MADISON (AP) - Wisconsin's Chippewa bands want to spear too many walleyes again this spring and risk re-igniting tensions if state officials adopt tight bag limits for non-tribal anglers, the state Assembly's tourism chairman warned Thursday.
The tribes have declared they want to harvest a record 63,488 walleye across northern Wisconsin this spring. The declaration comes after the state Department of Natural Resources imposed strict bag limits to compensate for last year's tribal goals and protect the walleye fishery. This year's declaration could push the agency to adopt even tighter restrictions on non-tribal fishermen.
Rep. Dean Kaufert, R-Neenah, chairman of the Assembly's tourism committee, was so incensed last year that he threatened to rescind a state grant for one Chippewa tribe. He said Thursday that the tribes are being too aggressive again this year, and he's already hearing complaints from constituents.
"Unfortunately the tribes don't do themselves any (public relations) favors when they do this," Kaufert said. "(The record declaration) catches people's attention and they're not pleased about it ... when you severely limit the ability of these folks to have a decent catch, it may impact the tourism."
Sue Erickson, a spokeswoman for the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, said in response to Kaufert that the bands have never actually met their harvest goals.
"The tribes' declarations represent an effort to provide opportunity for tribal members to harvest the fish they need during a very short and unpredictable season," she said.
The Chippewa signed treaties in the 1800s that granted the bands the right to hunt and fish on millions of northern Wisconsin acres that the tribes handed over to the federal government. The bands say they need to spear walleyes for food and use at ceremonies. They usually start spearing as soon as winter ice clears off northern lakes and continue until spawning ends in May.
The tribes usually harvest only about half their goal. But the DNR still assumes they'll reach the mark every year when it considers how to protect the overall walleye population, resulting in tight bag limits for non-tribal anglers. Last year, the tribes' 59,399 goal was so high the DNR imposed one-bag, or one-fish, limits on nearly 200 lakes and two-bag limits on more than 300.
Kaufert feared the limits would depress northern Wisconsin's sport-fishing economy. He threatened to pull back a $250,000 state grant for a Lac du Flambeau education center in retaliation. Gordon Thayer, then the Lac Courte Oreilles chairman, accused the DNR of spreading propaganda that the bag limits were all that stood between Wisconsin's walleye and extinction.
The discord faded after a cold, late spring kept the tribes' actual harvest to only 28,400 fish, allowing the DNR to raise bag limits accordingly.
The DNR has yet to release this year's bag limits but they figure to be stiffer than last year's because the Chippewa's declaration is higher.
Kaufert said he probably won't resort to making another financial threat. He said threatening to rescind the grant last year didn't accomplish anything, and other legislators, especially those with tribes in their districts, don't want to "stick their neck out" to back him up. He hopes a cold spring will tamp down the tribes' efforts again, allowing the DNR to ratchet up bag limits.
"I just don't believe they need to be as aggressive as they are," Kaufert said. "They do this because they can and it catches the ire of some folks."
Mike Arrowood is chairman of Walleyes for Tomorrow, a group that works to improve walleye fishing. He said non-tribal anglers can't do anything to change the Chippewa's treaty rights. Still, he questioned why the tribe makes such ambitious declarations.
"You have to wonder why (the tribes) set these unrealistic goals," he said. "What is their rationale? Why do they do this? To enflame public opinion?"
The tribes have declared they want to harvest a record 63,488 walleye across northern Wisconsin this spring. The declaration comes after the state Department of Natural Resources imposed strict bag limits to compensate for last year's tribal goals and protect the walleye fishery. This year's declaration could push the agency to adopt even tighter restrictions on non-tribal fishermen.
Rep. Dean Kaufert, R-Neenah, chairman of the Assembly's tourism committee, was so incensed last year that he threatened to rescind a state grant for one Chippewa tribe. He said Thursday that the tribes are being too aggressive again this year, and he's already hearing complaints from constituents.
"Unfortunately the tribes don't do themselves any (public relations) favors when they do this," Kaufert said. "(The record declaration) catches people's attention and they're not pleased about it ... when you severely limit the ability of these folks to have a decent catch, it may impact the tourism."
Sue Erickson, a spokeswoman for the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, said in response to Kaufert that the bands have never actually met their harvest goals.
"The tribes' declarations represent an effort to provide opportunity for tribal members to harvest the fish they need during a very short and unpredictable season," she said.
The Chippewa signed treaties in the 1800s that granted the bands the right to hunt and fish on millions of northern Wisconsin acres that the tribes handed over to the federal government. The bands say they need to spear walleyes for food and use at ceremonies. They usually start spearing as soon as winter ice clears off northern lakes and continue until spawning ends in May.
The tribes usually harvest only about half their goal. But the DNR still assumes they'll reach the mark every year when it considers how to protect the overall walleye population, resulting in tight bag limits for non-tribal anglers. Last year, the tribes' 59,399 goal was so high the DNR imposed one-bag, or one-fish, limits on nearly 200 lakes and two-bag limits on more than 300.
Kaufert feared the limits would depress northern Wisconsin's sport-fishing economy. He threatened to pull back a $250,000 state grant for a Lac du Flambeau education center in retaliation. Gordon Thayer, then the Lac Courte Oreilles chairman, accused the DNR of spreading propaganda that the bag limits were all that stood between Wisconsin's walleye and extinction.
The discord faded after a cold, late spring kept the tribes' actual harvest to only 28,400 fish, allowing the DNR to raise bag limits accordingly.
The DNR has yet to release this year's bag limits but they figure to be stiffer than last year's because the Chippewa's declaration is higher.
Kaufert said he probably won't resort to making another financial threat. He said threatening to rescind the grant last year didn't accomplish anything, and other legislators, especially those with tribes in their districts, don't want to "stick their neck out" to back him up. He hopes a cold spring will tamp down the tribes' efforts again, allowing the DNR to ratchet up bag limits.
"I just don't believe they need to be as aggressive as they are," Kaufert said. "They do this because they can and it catches the ire of some folks."
Mike Arrowood is chairman of Walleyes for Tomorrow, a group that works to improve walleye fishing. He said non-tribal anglers can't do anything to change the Chippewa's treaty rights. Still, he questioned why the tribe makes such ambitious declarations.
"You have to wonder why (the tribes) set these unrealistic goals," he said. "What is their rationale? Why do they do this? To enflame public opinion?"