Wi DNR needs input

[Wade Joseph]

This is long but didn't wanna get in trouble by posting a link.

Wisconsin Wants Your Comments On New Tournament Rules

Wisconsin’s is urging anglers to attend upcoming public hearings on proposed fishing tournament rule changes and submit written comments.

“Changes to fishing tournaments rules, and fishing tournaments in general, can be controversial,” says Mike Staggs, Wisconsin’s fisheries director. “There’s no one set of rules that will make everyone happy, but we’re committed to finding middle ground. It’s important for people to read the proposals and raise their concerns during the public hearings or in written comments.”

Fisheries staff will review public comments and finalize the proposals before returning to the state Natural Resources Board (NRB) to seek approval of the rules, likely in 2007, he says.

A 2004 law responded to public concerns raised about tournaments and instructed the DNR to update tournament fishing rules where there were significant, documented problems. Larger tournaments have been governed by a permit system since the mid-1990s, and the number of permitted events has increased from about 300 events a year to 400 since then. See the June 2006 Issue of Wisconsin Natural Resources for an article on fishing tournaments.

DNR staff developed proposed rule changes by working with an advisory group that included fishing clubs, lake associations, fishing tournament organizers and the Wisconsin Conservation Congress. The group focused on addressing documented problems with crowding at boat ramps and on some lakes during certain times of the year like holidays, and concerns over fish dying after being caught and released in tournaments. Studies have indicated that such “incidental mortality” doesn’t affect the fish population over all, but “no one likes to see the resource wasted,” Staggs says.

The original proposal was modified to address Natural Resources Board concerns about invasive species, incidental mortality, and recovering costs associated with managing the tournament permit program, he says.

Perhaps the most notable feature of the proposal is that tournament participants would have to immediately release fish in tournaments held in July and August instead of bringing them back to a weigh station, Staggs says. Water temperatures are the highest in those months, and there’s the greatest risk of increased mortality of fish caught in those events. In recent years, several highly publicized incidents occurred when fish died after being caught in live-release bass tournaments on the Mississippi River and walleye tournaments in Green Bay.

According to Patrick Schmalz, the DNR fish biologist who led the rule development, key provisions are:

- Tournaments would be required to get a permit if they had 20 or more boats or 100 or more individuals; if they awarded prizes totaling $10,000 or more; if they targeted trout on classified trout streams; or if they were live-release events with an off-site weigh-in.

- The fee for tournament permits must cover costs associated with administering the permit program, with the exception of tournaments in which all participants are youngsters or disabled people.

- Permit fees would vary depending on event size. People attending public hearings or submitting written comments on the rule changes will be asked which payment option they prefer: having event organizers pay the permit fee or having event organizers and participants pay. The Natural Resources Board struck from consideration a third option to use fishing license revenues to pay some of the cost.

- A permit application process would begin August 1 for tournaments the following year and extend through Sept. 30. Tournament applications for water bodies and time periods that exceed proposed limits would be subject to a drawing. Under current rules, permit applications are accepted up to one year prior to and no later than 30 days prior to a fishing tournament.

- DNR would have the authority to limit the number, size and frequency of tournaments held on a particular waterbody based on waterbody size to lessen the pressure on fish and reduce conflicts with other anglers and boaters. Current rules have no such limits.

- Anglers would be required to meet standards for handling fish to reduce stress on the fish, and more conditions could be added if warm water and other conditions warrant. These standards are intended to avoid wasting fish. Wisconsin studies thus far have shown tournaments don’t have a lasting impact on fish populations.

- Organizers could hold tournaments on the opening day of seasons, but not on major summer holidays. Under current rules tournaments are prohibited on the opening day of fishing seasons only.

- Organizers would need to take steps to prevent tournament organizers and participants from inadvertently spreading invasive aquatic species.

The hearings will be begin at 7 p.m. on the following dates and locations:

October 30, Fond du Lac – Holiday Inn, 624 W. Rolling Meadows Dr. (US 151 & 41).

November 1, La Crosse – Strzelczyk Great Hall, Cleary Center, UW-La Crosse, 615 East Ave., South.

November 2, Fitchburg – Fitchburg Community Center, 5510 Lacy Road.

November 8, Green Bay – Auditorium, Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary Nature Center, 1660 East Shore Dr.

November 9, Sturtevant – Suite IV, DNR Service Center, 9531 Rayne Road.

November 14, Spooner – Spooner Agricultural Research Station, W6646 Highway 70.

November 15, Rhinelander – Nicolet Technical College Theater, County Highway G.

A copy of the draft rules, hearing dates, and other materials concerning fishing tournaments can be found on the DNR Web site.

The proposed rule and fiscal estimate may be reviewed and comments electronically submitted at through the State of Wisconsin Administrative Rules Web site (exit DNR). Written comments on the proposed rule may be submitted until Nov. 17 via U.S. mail to Patrick J. Schmalz, Bureau of Fisheries Management and Habitat Protection, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707. Written comments whether submitted electronically or by U.S. mail will have the same weight and effect as oral statements presented at the public hearings.

Contact Mike Staggs, (608) 267-0796; Patrick Schmalz, (608) 266-8170

Wish there was one closer to us.