Minnesota’s new Free State Park Permits for Indians, signed into law by Gov. Walz in last June, went into effect Jan. 1 of this year. Under the new law any member of the 11 federally recognized tribes in Minnesota is eligible for an annual state park permit for no charge.

Apparently, this new law has legs. By December, Wisconsin’s Sporting Heritage Council heard concerns about tribal members having to pay access fees to enter state parks. A member of the Ho Chunk tribe, which hosted a gathering at Copper Falls State Park, was upset that tribal members had to pay to enter the state park. Although park staff were able to waive fees for that event, he asked that fees be waived year-round. His reasoning, “It creates problems for tribe members […]

PERM members are invited to observe/comment via online video-conference

The Mille Lacs Fisheries Advisory Committee will meet from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 15. PERM members and interested outdoor enthusiasts are invited to observe/comment via online video-conference.

The agenda covers:

*** Fall netting results

*** Upcoming open water regulations

*** Update on the Mille Lacs management plan.

*** Welcome new members onto the committee.

Fifteen minutes are reserved for public comments and questions

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Members of the public who wish to observe the meeting or speak during the public comment period should contact millelacs.fisheries@state.mn.us by (before) noon  Monday, Feb. 14, to receive the online meeting link.  

This is an email contact so start early!

Again, fifteen minutes are reserved for public comments and questions.

Meeting minutes will be posted after the meeting on the MLFAC page.

It’s not racist to question racist government policy

Joe Fellegy nails it in today’s Outdoor News, Fellegy selfie Q&A: tribal state park permits and more. He calls out the Governor, DNR, various state leaders, and unnamed tribal politicos over a discriminatory tribal state park permit policy. He explains why the Governor “and his administration cannot be trusted to defend Minnesota’s best interests.”

Read more below.

Fellegy selfie Q&A: tribal state park permits and more
By Joe Fellegy    Outdoor News Minnesota    January 21, 2022

Editor’s note: Joe Fellegy this week offers readers an interview with … himself. Covered are matters of tribal state park permits, angling exaggerations, and the state’s walleye limit.

Q: Why question Minnesota’s new state park permit law, effective Jan. 1, giving free annual permits to enrolled members of Minnesota’s 11 tribal nations? Isn’t […]

The most asked questions I get about PERM are: With no major case in court why is PERM still operating? And, what is done with funds raised?

Every chance to speak up, challenge, inform, organize citizen response, initiate or sign on to a lawsuit all vary in timing and scope. (And depend on resources available.) Ebb or flow, PERM has to maintain a continuous presence. Returning after mothballing or shutting down until a big headliner issue comes up could take months, even years. That would certainly cancel any chance for an effective response.

So, we stay nimble. We maintain a much-downsized office, monitor the issues, and respond as we can.  Help PERM keep the goal of “Equal Hunting and Fishing Rights for All” moving forward. If everybody pitches in, we can do […]

Looking at new laws going into effect in 2022 one stood out—Free State Park permits for Indians.

This law came out of the Legislature’s 2021 Special Session and the SF 20, Environment and Natural Resources omnibus bill. It was signed into law by Gov. Walz on June 29, 2021.

SF20 was controversial in part because of the electric car mandate. But a lot of other laws were missed by the public. One was the Free State Park Permit for Indians. The new law reads:

“As of Jan. 1, 2022, any member of the 11 federally recognized tribes in Minnesota is eligible for an annual state park permit for no charge. The permit is valid only when displayed on a vehicle owned and occupied by the person to whom the permit is issued. Additionally, […]

An article by Star Tribune reporter Jim Williams explains how tribes in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan acquired special permission to open up the hunting of Tundra swans. “ Tundra swans can be hunted by some American Indian tribes in Minnesota.” They are legal game in eight states, but the nearly identical-looking Trumpeter swans are strictly protected everywhere. Which pretty much eliminates the hunting of Tundra swans.

Tribes sought permission from the federal Fish and wildlife service to allow 10 trumpeter swans to be harvested in a no-limit season on Tundra swans. Permission was granted because swans are “part of the Chippewa’s hunting tradition.”

Only Indians are allowed to hunt these swans. European settlers also hunted Trumpeter swans for food, so this discrimination against non-tribal hunters must be based on […]

Recent reporting by Tim Spielman pulled the curtain back on the White Earth and Leech Lake Bands’ abrupt “teal hunting ban.” Streams of Thought, Tim Spielman, Editor, Outdoor News Minnesota, September 10, 2021. It came just days before the launch of a new experimental teal hunting season.

It’s a pretty big deal, being the first new season in nearly 50 years. The September 4 to 8 season allows hunting teal that would have migrated south by the regular season’s open on September 25.

Following USFWS guidelines, the new season can continue after a three-year trial if the DNR can show hunters shooting only teal and not going after other species. To make certain this happens, the DNR is going all-out with surveillance and surveys. So far, the hunt is considered positive with […]

The only detail concerning non-tribal hunters is “none”

Javier Serna, Assistant Editor, Outdoor News Minnesota, recently did a great job revealing these details.

How is it that Grand Portage and Bois Forte bands of Ojibwe, and the Fond du Lac Band of Chippewa can hunt Moose whenever they want and decide how many they kill when Moose hunting by Minnesotans has been shut down for years?

The Moose have been in decline for years—but no problem—”since we only take a few.” The number doesn’t really matter because of tribal “culture” and “sustenance” reasons. Which obviously trump any sense of stewardship.

Furthermore, don’t ask the tribes any questions because we are not answering your calls.

The DNR will get started on updating the State’s moose-management plan (most recently updated in 2011) as soon as they figure […]