Organizers of large fishing tournaments in North Dakota could pay more in conservation fees under an administrative rule change the Game and Fish Department made that went into effect Oct. 1.
With the change, every tournament will have to pay a minimum of 10% of its gross proceeds from entry or participation fees to the department for conservation projects such as boat ramps, docks or fish cleaning stations.
Previously, the conservation fee was capped at $5,000.
In a “Frequently Asked Questions” posting on its website, the Game and Fish Department said the 10% fee originally went into effect in 1984 but was capped at $5,000 in 1999 at the request of various fishing clubs, professional anglers and others.
Restoring the 10% requirement addresses a fairness issue, the department said, and affects less than 10 of the 160 or so fishing tournaments held in the state every year. Smaller tournaments don’t generate enough proceeds to reach $5,000 anyway, even with the 10% conservation fee requirement.
“The Department had received numerous public inquiries from both other tournament sponsors and non-tournament anglers as to why there appeared to be preferential treatment for large tournaments with large payouts,” the FAQ posting indicates. “The thought process is all tournaments should pay the full 10% to be fair.”
The department announced the administrative rule change proposal to media outlets in June and also notified in-state tournament sponsors.
The change could mean some organizers of larger out-of-state tournaments will bypass North Dakota as a competition site, the department concedes. The Cabela’s/Bass Pro Shops National Walleye Tour, for example, held a tournament in early September on Lake Sakakawea out of Garrison, N.D.
“It is conceivable that some high value tournaments where professional tournament anglers are paid out $100,000-$300,000 may be required to pay $10,000-$30,000 toward a North Dakota fishery conservation project,” according to the department’s FAQ post. “Ultimately those are business decisions that will be made by tournament sponsors.”
In addition to the 10% conservation fee, North Dakota’s permitting process requires organizers to pay back at least 75% of their entry or participant fees to tournament anglers in the form of cash or merchandise, said Greg Power, fisheries chief for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department in Bismarck.
Greg Power, fisheries chief, North Dakota Game and Fish Department. (Photo/ North Dakota Game and Fish Department)
In-state tournaments affected by the removal of the $5,000 conservation fee cap include the North Dakota Governor’s Cup, the Dakota Walleye Classic, the Devils Lake Chamber Tournament and the Devils Lake Volunteer Fire Department’s ice fishing tournament, Power said. The department typically receives $75,000 to $90,000 in conservation fees from tournament events, he said, which the department then allocates to host sites for improvements such as boat ramps, docks and other amenities.
The FAQ on the tournament rule change can be found at https://gf.nd.gov/fishing/faq/2020-fishing-contest-admin-rule-change.
– Brad Dokken
DNR extends wolf management input
People who want to share their opinions on wolf management in Minnesota will have additional time to do so.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources on Thursday, Oct. 29, said it is extending the public input process on its wolf management plan until Friday, Nov. 20. The decision follows Thursday’s decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the wolf from the federal threatened species list in Minnesota.
“We have been working on an update to our wolf management plan since November of 2019, and gathering broad public input on wolf management since late September,” said Dave Olfelt, DNR Fish and Wildlife Division director. “Given (Thursday’s) delisting decision, we will extend our web-based public input until Nov. 20 so people can consider the federal delisting prior to offering their input on wolf management in Minnesota. We will carefully consider all of this input as we draft revisions to our wolf management plan.”
Dave Olfelt, Fish and Wildlife Division director, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. (Photo/ Minnesota DNR)
Minnesota’s wolf management plan provides guidance on how the state manages wolves, including population monitoring, population management, depredation control, public safety and more. The DNR intends to share a draft updated wolf management plan for public review in early 2021 and will take comments on the actual plan at that time.
More info: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/wolves/index.html.
– Herald staff report
NDGF completes salmon spawn
Fisheries crews for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department have completed their annual salmon spawning operation on the Missouri River System, after collecting more than 2.1 million eggs.
Crews easily collected enough eggs to stock the 400,000 smolts planned for Lake Sakakawea in 2021, as well as provide approximately 400,000 surplus eggs to South Dakota, said Russ Kinzler, Missouri River System fisheries biologist for Game and Fish.
Crews collected the majority of eggs from Lake Sakakawea, with help from the Missouri River below Garrison Dam. Average size of female salmon was 8.3 pounds, which is almost 2 pounds heavier than last year.
“We’ve had good numbers of rainbow smelt, which is the primary forage for salmon in Lake Sakakawea,” Kinzler said. “This year we are seeing that the average size of those smelt has increased and we are seeing that resulting in larger salmon.”
Chinook salmon begin their spawning run in October. Since salmon cannot naturally reproduce in North Dakota, Game and Fish personnel capture the fish and transport them to the Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery where they are relieved of their eggs.
Once the eggs hatch, young salmon spend 6 months in the hatchery before being stocked in Lake Sakakawea.
– Herald staff report
DNR offers online maps
Deer hunters in Minnesota can access a variety of online maps from the DNR.
The DNR’s interactive deer permit area map shows area boundaries and locations of public land. By clicking on “detail report,” hunters will find harvest history, permit area designation, winter severity history and other information.
By clicking “detail map” users can view and download a PDF map of the permit area. On a mobile device, the PDF maps can be used with the Avenza Maps app as a geospatial PDF (GeoPDF). GeoPDFs display a current location like Google Maps, but the user does not need to be connected to the internet or have cell service while using the maps.
Hunters also can find online maps of public land in Minnesota, including the state’s 1.3 million acres of land in wildlife management areas. One way to search for WMAs is using the WMA Finder on the DNR website. Additionally, the DNR is providing background maps for GPS units that depict WMA boundaries and parking areas.
More info: mndnr.gov.
– Herald staff report
The Link LonkOctober 31, 2020 at 03:00AM
https://ift.tt/2HP9oqe.
Outdoors Notebook: ND Game and Fish revises fishing tournament conservation fee rule, Minnesota DNR extends input on wolf management plan etc. - Grand Forks Herald
https://ift.tt/35JkYuc
Fish
No comments:
Post a Comment