Dear Neighbor,
Tomorrow marks the start of firearms deer hunting season. Please be safe and good luck if you are one of Minnesota’s many that pursue the wily white tail!
Monday, I participated in an administrative law hearing at CLC in Brainerd on MPCA’s proposed change to the wild rice sulfate standard. As I mentioned last week the existing rule is clearly not accurate and should never been adopted. The judge heard a diverse group of experts urge caution because the proposed new rule is also not supported by the rigorous scientific evidence required before a new rule is imposed.
The mayor of Foley, Minn. provided testimony on the potential $15 million cost to his city should this rule go forward. Like virtually all the municipal waste water treatment plants in the state, theirs would require a major upgrade to meet the new standard.
I provided oral testimony to Judge Schalatter and submitted a letter requesting the she find that MPCA has not yet met the reasonableness standard for implementing this rule. Deadline for submitting comments is November 22, 2018 for more info visit this link.
Thursday evening the Mille Lacs Lake Fishery Citizens Advisory Committee received a preliminary report from the DNR on a potential walleye regulation for the winter season. The fall survey data produced no surprises. The 2013 year class is still very abundant and are now an important part of the spawning biomass, with 100 percent of males mature and 90 percent of females considered mature enough to spawn.
The DNR provided a preliminary recommendation to the committee that the winter regulation include keeping one fish between 20-22 inches length or one larger fish 26 inches or larger. The proposal was discussed in detail by the committee and reached a consensus that it would be acceptable.
A major concern of the committee was that regardless of what the final winter regulation is, that the DNR make sure it to avoid the potential of a summer lake closure as has occurred in late summer in recent years.
The regulation is not yet in place and must undergo the expedited game and fish rule making process. That requires publishing the proposed rule in the state register and takes about 10 days. Once that process is complete then the regulation is in place. Once that is done, next we need winter good ice!
Sincerely,
Dale