Jeffrey Hage / Mille Lacs County Times
Jeffrey Hage
Times Editor
ISLE — The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe is doing its part to improve the health of the walleye population on Lake Mille Lacs.
Gov. Mark Dayton announced Friday, July 31, that the Band has agreed to forego netting for walleye on the lake in 2016. The announcement was made during a July 31 town meeting at Isle High School on the southeast corner of the lake. Dayton called the roundtable so he could personally address concerns of Lake Mille Lacs area resort owners, fishing guides, sportsmen, residents and business owners following a Minnesota DNR announcement July 21 that the lake was within 3,000 pounds of reaching its 2015 walleye harvest numbers and walleye fishing could be shut down for the year.
The news from Dayton drew a standing ovation from the estimated 300 people in attendance at the listening session.
Dayton told the crowd that about 20 minutes before the Isle meeting he had spoken with Melanie Benjamin, chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. He said she had met with Band elders, who made the decision to hold off on netting by tribal members in 2016, he said. He added that the decision only affects netting by the Mille Lacs Band, not the other seven tribes that have fishing rights on the lake because of an 1837 treaty.
The Band came forward with the offer, Dayton said. It was nothing that his office asked for. He was clear to point out that the move was not part of any “deal” that his office brokered.
“I did not ask for this. It came as a wonderful surprise,” Dayton said.
The Band issued a statement early Friday afternoon.
“The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe remains deeply committed to safeguarding the long-term health of Mille Lacs Lake and ensuring the region’s economy continues to grow and prosper, including businesses that rely on the lake.
“As Governor Dayton and legislative leaders develop a plan to help the region, the Mille Lacs Band will continue to promote the region through the DoTheLake campaign and other marketing efforts to drive additional tourism to the region. The Mille Lacs Band Department of Natural Resources and Environment will continue to work closely with the Minnesota DNR, the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission and other stakeholders to protect the lake for future generations.
“There are no quick solutions to fixing Mille Lacs Lake, but the Mille Lacs Band is committed to restoring the lake. Our people made our home here hundreds of years ago and we intend to preserve this lake for generations to come. We look forward to partnering with the Governor to support his efforts to address the immediate and long-term challenges of the region.”
Dayton’s visit to Isle came after representatives of the Mille Lacs Area Tourism Board visited the Governor’s office on Wednesday, July 29. That meeting came on the heels of a July 23 meeting at McQuoid’s Inn between DNR officials and members of the public to discuss the potential closing of the fishery.
Karen McQuoid, of Mac’s Twin Bay Resort, a member of the lake area tourism board, started the meeting off by recapping the July 29 meeting with Dayton in St. Paul. The group told the story of the “state of the lake” from the eyes of residents, business owners and launch captains.
“We explained that we are passionate about our Mille Lacs fishery and our businesses. Mille Lacs is not only a Minnesota treasure, it’s home to hundreds of families, family cabins, and a popular retirement destination,” McQuoid said.
“All of us want this fishery to survive,” she said.
The tourism group and Dayton discussed the impact on businesses and homeowners and disputed the DNR’s assessment that the lake is in a state of crisis, she said.
The group made a handful of requests to Dayton and his staff, McQuoid said, including keeping the walleye fishery open with catch and release for the remainder of the 2015 fishing season, keeping ice fishing open without catch and release this upcoming winter and to grant economic relief for the area. The group also asked for long-term solutions and no more Band-Aid fixes, McQuoid said.
Dayton said he fully supported those measures.
“We need to do what we can to save the lake and turn it around,” Dayton said during the one-hour town meeting.
Dayton said he was going to establish an advisory committee to help him tackle issues related to ensuring the health of the lake.
Over the past week Dayton said he has come to realize that the current state of Lake Mille Lacs is a “tragic, tragic situation” and that work on restoring the walleye population needs to start immediately.
“We need to restore the lake to its former glory,” Dayton said, noting that the lake was once one of the top walleye destinations in the nation. Just three years ago the walleye harvest on Mille Lacs was 500,000 pounds and in 2015 its just 40,000.
Dickie Gadbois, owner of Dickie’s on Mille Lacs, said the walleye are biting real good this year and suggested that the quota on walleye was being nearly met because of a food shortage.
“We should take boats out and drop minnows and feed these fish now,” Gadbois said.
Linda Eno, owner of Twin Pines Resort on Mille Lacs in Garrison, told Dayton that a declining fishery is a process those on the lake have been dealing with for 20 years. She faulted the DNR for implementing management plans that didn’t work and failing to change those plans.
“They’ve been asleep at the wheel,” Eno said.
Joe Fellegy, a former fishing guide, launch operator, son of Mille Lacs resort owners and a newspaper fishing columnist, told Dayton that 90 percent of fisherman who once fished the lake have been scared off by quotas, size limits and other DNR policy. “The negative impacts of public policy far outweigh the benefits,” he said.
He also said that Mille Lacs has suffered the biggest public relations fiasco in Minnesota fishing history.
“Mille Lacs Lives Matter,” Fellegy told Dayton. “The treaty fishery, Mille Lacs style, has to go,” he said.
Jim Derosa of Jim DeRosa’s Guide Service in Isle, said everyone in the school’s auditorium agrees on one thing – that Mille Lacs could be the best lake in Minnesota.
He noted that the most recent issue of BassMasters magazine ranked Mille Lacs as the 10th best bass lake in the United States.
“Take out large mouth only, and its No. 5,” he said.
DeRosa said he hopes the DNR manages the lake in a way that it looks at it as a world-class lake for bass and not a stop-gap fish to catch until the health of the walleye fishery improves.
He also invited Dayton to go out on his boat and fish the lake with him.
But Dayton warned Derosa that he was a fish repellent and DeRosa would be taking a big chance by going out with him.
“Besides, I would trade all the walleye in the world for one big muskie,” Dayton said kiddingly.
John Odell, owner of the Last Resort on the west side of Mille Lacs, reminded Dayton that the lives of people who reside and work on the lake depend on the decisions he will help make in the next few weeks. Odell said that he has already had 15 cancellations for August and September in the past two weeks.
Jack Dunn, who said he was a guide on the lake for 16 years, is now out of work because of the downturn of the lake.
“We need to work together like five fingers on a hand and bring back the lake. Then maybe I can come back to work,” he said.