Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Secretary (the title that state uses instead of "commissioner") Cathy Stepp reacted strongly Monday to that state's annual tribal walleye harvest declarations issued by Chippewa bands.
Never before, Stepp said, have the Chippewa declared so many lakes that will result in angler walleye limits on those waters to be reduced to one.
Fully 197 lakes declared by the Chippewa on Monday will lead to one-walleye angler limits, Stepp said, compared to 10 lakes previously that fell into that category.
Among them is the Three Lakes chain in northwest Wisconsin, a popular destination for tourists and anglers.
The Chippewa are within their rights, Stepp said, to seek the higher limits for their band members.
But one band, she said — the Lac du Flambeau — named 232 of their 233 lakes as two-walleye limits for anglers. In doing so, she said, the band essentially voided unilaterally a 16-year agreement with the state.
As part of that agreement, Stepp said, the Tribe received $84,500 from the state to maintain the three-walleye bag limit. They also received revenue generated through sales of snowmobile, ATV and fishing license sales on reservation.
"Based on the tribe's breach of the agreement, the department has no choice but to withhold the payment and the license revenue," Stepp said.
