The Republican and DFL co-chairs of a working group tasked with saving the walleye tourism on Lake Mille Lacs told state officials Wednesday they have a simple solution to the problem: Bring back walleye fishing.
Rep. Tom Hackbarth, R-Cedar, and Sen. David Tomassoni, DFL-Chisholm, repeatedly told Commissioner Tom Landwehr of the Department of Natural Resources that the quickest relief for resort owners in the area would be to reopen walleye season, which ended Monday because of a walleye population decline.
The working group session underscored the dicey political situation Gov. Mark Dayton walked into when he began discussing a special session to give aid to the struggling resort industry and Mille Lacs region — the Legislature is home to 201 members who have their own agendas and, unlike Dayton, must face the voters in 2016.
Tomassoni encouraged Landwehr to begin negotiating with the eight tribal bands who have an agreement about the walleye quota that stems from an 1837 treaty and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1999.
When Tomassoni mentioned three weeks to reopen the season, Hackbarth wanted even faster action.
The season ended because the state hit its walleye limit of 28,000 pounds and now is actually a bit over that record low quota.
Tomassoni said after the meeting that while a month of fishing would not do irreparable damage to the walleye, it could help save the lake resorts without requiring a special legislative session.
Landwehr said the DNR will re-examine the possibility of reopening of walleye season and laid out a series of measures to improve relations with local residents in the short term and restore walleye health in the long term.
