This letter from PERM really confused me. I don’t follow the troubles up there very closely so I’m not a person that can start pointing fingers and such.
I know I couldn’t get paid enough to be working with the DNR and assigned to Mille Lacs. No matter what a person does, there will be a group not happy. At least that’s what I’ve picked up over the last couple years of reading here.
What confuses me is why the DNR didn’t talk to the group that was selected by the DNR to help? If what’s in the letter below is true…
I truly hope all the issues around this lake can be worked out peacefully and based on what’s good for the lake.
No one from DNR ever spoke to MLFAC about this agreement
The following is a letter being sent today from Dean Hanson, Mille Lacs Fishery Advisory Committee to DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr. It is very troubling to say the least. Please read his letter and see my comments below.
Doug Meyenburg
Dean Hanson’s Letter
Dear Commissioner Landwehr,
We recently acquired a copy of an agreement called “Consensus: Mille Lacs Fishery Harvest Plan, 2017-2020”, dated March 31, 2017 between the DNR, GLIFWIC, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (copy attached).
We were shocked to say the least. No one from the DNR had ever spoken to MLFAC about this agreement, either before or after its signing. This agreement was never disclosed to the public at any time. Why would the DNR secretly negotiate a settlement like this without disclosing it to anyone? This is exactly the type of thing, which reinforces our position that more transparency is needed in connection with DNR and Band discussions and negotiations. It is an example of why we have requested participation of some kind in FTC meetings.
We also need to consider that this agreement resulted from an overharvest of 6,800 pounds in 2016. It was an estimated hooking mortality, not an actual harvest. These numbers come from expansions of creel census data, which have always been suspect to us, as well as an estimated hooking mortality study, which we have questioned since its release. We also believe that this overage may well be within the margin of error of all of these calculations, as well. In addition, the DNR has stated several times that they do not believe that any harm was done to the spawning stock biomass, the 2013 year class or any part of the walleye population as a result of the overage. So why, given the insignificant overage and its minimal impact, did the DNR give up so much?
The DNR gave the Bands 50% of any harvestable surplus over 64,000 pounds. They set harvestable surplus levels, which could severely reduce our potential harvest in the future. They locked us in to a hooking mortality based on the suspect hooking mortality study. They locked us in to an overage program which all comes due in 2020 and will probably significantly reduce our harvest potential in 2018-2020.
At this point, what did you have to lose by letting them go back to court and fighting it? Maybe a Phase II lawsuit would settle the allocation issues with a more favorable outcome for Minnesota sportsmen.
We believe MLFAC, as well as the public deserves answers to these and many other questions and we request an open meeting with the DNR, MLFAC and anyone else who is interested within 2 weeks. Please respond to this as soon as possible.
Dean Hanson
Co-Chair, MLFAC
My Take On Dean Hanson’s Letter
The agreement was negotiated entirely in secret. This shows the DNR’s leadership has no regard for the MLFAC members whom they appoint. It ignores the constituencies MLFAC represents and the suggestions they have been making for improving the “co-management” of Mille Lacs.
It must be infuriating to find out that Mille Lacs “co-management” regarding walleye angling has been hard-wired–for the next three years! Especially galling is having an agreement based on research methods and data challenged as faulty by MLFAC members at every meeting.
The agreement leads one to believe all the meetings with Governor Dayton and DNR officials have been nothing more than dog-and-pony shows.
If an agreement like this has to be done behind closed doors, and the results known only if leaked, is there more going on than meets the eye? At a minimum it look like a one-sided sweetheart deal of a payoff, extracted over a measly 6,800-pound overage.
It is time to hold the Governor and DNR accountable for their actions!
** DNR Commissioner Landwehr and Fisheries Chief Don Pereira must resign.
** Other parties to this agreement, tribal management and the taxpayer-funded GLIFWC, should also be held accountable. They should be exposed for breaking trust with the citizens of Minnesota, and violating the spirit of the Supreme Court’s affirmation of 1837 Treaty harvest rights.
** Governor Dayton should call for a priority investigation by the Office of the Legislative Auditor to be conducted as soon as possible.
** The appropriate House and Senate Committees should not only review the Auditor’s report, but also look back at all DNR-Tribal/GLIFWC meetings since Court ordered negotiations began.
** The appropriate House and Senate Committees should also review and prioritize previously submitted legislative proposals related to fixing Mille Lacs “co-management.”
Doug,
Douglas J. Meyenburg
President PERM
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the stumbling and bumbling just keeps getting worse. 
