Gov. Mark Dayton has stepped into the management of Minnesota's premier walleye lake by allowing Mille Lacs' fishing season to continue — under a catch-and-release rule — even after anglers have surpassed a controversial quota established with Indian tribes.
It's the first time a governor has interceded since Minnesota began co-managing Mille Lacs with local Chippewa tribes nearly 20 years ago.
"Closing the walleye fishing season on Mille Lacs would devastate area businesses and communities," Dayton said Tuesday. "The state's fisheries experts have assured me that continuing catch-and-release on Mille Lacs will not negatively impact the health of the walleye fishery."
Leaders of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe quickly challenged Dayton's conclusion, saying they were disappointed in his announcement and issuing a sternly worded rebuttal.
"We have not seen the data the state used … but our biologists believe the state's decision to exceed its share of the agreed safe harvestable limit will prolong and could negatively impact the ability to rebuild the Mille Lacs walleye population in the future," said Susan Klapel, the Mille Lacs band's commissioner of natural resources.
Tribal officials also questioned the state's refusal to prohibit live bait "or take other measures to further reduce walleye mortalities."
Anglers and resort owners, however, applauded Dayton's intervention as an attempt to save the local economy.
"I think the governor did the right thing," said fishing guide Tom Neustrom of Grand Rapids, Minn., a member of the Mille Lacs Fisheries Advisory Committee, a state-appointed group. "I think Mille Lacs has a lot of walleyes in it, and I think the DNR's fall population assessment will show that."