Initial regulatory flexibility analysis
Pursuant to s.
227.114, Stats., the proposed rule may have an impact on small businesses but is not expected to have a significant adverse effect on a substantial number of small businesses and may have favorable effects on a number of businesses by correcting and clarifying existing rules and by adding informational Notes to ch.
NR 40. The department's initial regulatory flexibility analysis is as follows:
Type of small business that will be affected by the rule.
Small businesses that may be affected by the proposed rule include the plant nursery industry, seed and agriculture industries, fish farmers, bait dealers, aquarium and ornamental fish dealers, businesses that own or manage land, and commercial fishers.
Reporting, bookkeeping and other procedures required for compliance with the rule.
No new reporting, bookkeeping or other procedures are created by the proposed rule.
Type of professional skills necessary for compliance with the rule.
No new professional skills are needed to comply with the proposed rule.
Small business regulatory coordinator
The department's Small Business Regulatory Coordinator may be contacted by calling (608) 266-1959 or by email at
Linda.Haddix@wisconsin.gov.
Environmental Analysis
The department has made a preliminary determination that this action does not involve significant adverse environmental effects and does not need an environmental analysis under ch.
NR 150, Wis. Adm. Code. However, based on the comments received, the department may prepare an environmental analysis before proceeding with the proposal. This environmental review document would summarize the department's consideration of the impacts of the proposal and reasonable alternatives.
Fiscal Estimate
State fiscal effect
None anticipated.
Local government fiscal effect
None.
Agency Contact Person
Kelly Kearns
Bureau of Endangered Resources
Department of Natural Resources
PO Box 7921
Madison, WI 53707-7921
Telephone: (608) 267-5066
Notice of Hearings
Natural Resources
Fish, Game, etc., Chs.
NR 1—
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to ss.
23.09 (2) (b),
29.014,
29.053 (3),
29.059,
29.089,
29.192 and
29.193, Stats., the Department of Natural Resources will hold public hearings on revisions to Chapters
NR 10,
11,
12 and
19, Wis. Adm. Code, relating to hunting, trapping, closed areas and game refuges (
CR 10-020).
The proposed rules will:
1.
Establish a definition and allow the use of atlatls for small game hunting.
2. Allow the use of colony traps for muskrats and establish size standards and regulations.
3. Eliminate the Burnett County and Rock Prairie Canada Goose Management Subzones.
4. Establish and clarify definitions of a normal “agricultural or gardening practice" and “manipulation" for the purposes of enforcing existing prohibitions of baiting and feeding wild animals.
5. Allow participation in the youth turkey hunting season by 16 and 17 year olds.
6. Establish turkey hunting seasons and zones at Hartman Creek, Straight Lake, and the Glacial Heritage Area State Parks.
7. Establish a single, consistent raccoon season opener for residents and non-residents.
8. Allow firearm deer hunting at Nelson Dewey state park during the traditional season in November.
9. Allow deer hunting on newly acquired lands at Buckhorn state park during all normal firearm deer hunting seasons.
10. Allow muzzleloader deer hunting at Big Bay state park during the normal statewide muzzleloader season that follows the traditional November firearm season.
11. Establish firearm and archery deer hunting seasons at proposed Glacial Heritage Area state parks that are consistent with other CWD Management Zone state park hunting seasons.
12. Allow participation in the youth deer hunting season by 16 and 17 year olds.
13. Establish a single, consistent statewide opening date for fox hunting and trapping and coyote trapping.
14. Eliminate the 2:00 p.m. pheasant hunting closure at Scuppernong River Habitat Management Area in Waukesha County and allows pheasant hunting all day.
15.
Allow the use of scopes on muzzleloading firearms during the muzzleloader-only deer hunting season.
16. Provide that all deer hunting licenses which are issued to 10 year-olds to 17 year-olds will include a carcass tag that is valid for an antlerless deer in any unit statewide.
17. Allow the transportation of whole deer carcasses from the CWD zone to other areas if the whole carcass is taken directly to a licensed meat processor or taxidermist.
18. Allow dividing a deer into five parts prior to registration in order to facilitate removal from the field. These sections also repeal, recreate and amend provisions which allow quartering bear and elk so that they may be divided into five parts in order to more easily facilitate removal from the field.
19. Increase the penalty for violation animal damage abatement program requirements by clarifying that program participation can be denied for the following program year in addition to the current year.
20. Clarify the definition of “novice participant" for learn to hunt programs.
NOTICE IS HEREBY FURTHER GIVEN that pursuant to ss.
29.014 (1),
29.039,
29.041,
29.053,
29.531 and
29.533, Stats., the Department of Natural Resources will hold public hearings on revisions to Chapters
NR 20,
21 and
26, Wis. Adm. Code, relating to fishing on the inland, outlying, and boundary waters of Wisconsin (
CR 10-025).
The proposed rules will:
1. Permit motor trolling in Ashland, Iron, Price and Sawyer counties.
2. Eliminate the minimum size restriction for largemouth and smallmouth bass in Bear, Horsehead, and Upper and Lower Turtle lakes (Barron county).
3. Increase the minimum size restriction for walleye in Bear, Horseshoe (T36N, R14E, S3, 115 ac.), and Upper and Lower Turtle lakes (Barron county) from 15 to 18 inches and decreases the daily bag limit for walleye from 5 fish to 3 fish.
4. Eliminate the minimum size restriction for largemouth and smallmouth bass in Lake Owen (Bayfield county).
5. Increase the minimum size restriction for walleye in Lake Owen (Bayfield County) from 15 to 18 inches and decreases the daily bag limit for walleye from 5 fish to 3 fish.
6. Eliminate the minimum size restriction for largemouth and smallmouth bass in Big McKenzie lake (Burnett/ Washburn counties).
7. Increase the minimum size restriction for walleye in Big McKenzie lake (Burnett/ Washburn counties) from 15 to 18 inches and decreases the daily bag limit for walleye from 5 fish to 3 fish.
8. Increase the minimum size restriction for walleye in Metonga lake (Forest county) from 15 to 18 inches and decreases the daily bag limit for walleye from 5 fish to 3 fish.
9. Standardize trout regulations for all of the Wolf river (Langlade county), allowing hook and line fishing only with artificial lures from the First Saturday in May at 5:00am until September 30 with a bag limit of 3 and a maximum size of 12 inches. There is also a catch and release season from October 1 to November 15 for hook and line fishing with artificial lures.
10. Eliminate the minimum size restriction for largemouth and smallmouth bass in Half Moon, Pipe, and Ward lakes (Polk county).
11. Increase the minimum size restriction for walleye in Big Butternut, Half Moon, Pipe, and Ward lakes (Polk county) from 15 to 18 inches and reduces the daily bag limit for walleye from 5 fish to 3 fish.
12. Eliminate the minimum size restriction for largemouth and smallmouth bass in Chain, Clear, Island, and McCann lakes (Island chain of lakes, Rusk county).
13. Increase the minimum size restriction for walleye in Chain, Clear, Island, and McCann lakes (Island chain of lakes, Rusk county) from 15 to 18 inches and reduces the daily bag limit for walleye from 5 fish to 3 fish.
14. Extend the season on Chippewa flowage (Sawyer county) from the first Saturday in May to the first Sunday in March for all species except muskellunge, walleye, and lake sturgeon.
15. Eliminate the minimum size restriction for largemouth and smallmouth bass in Whitefish and Sissabagama lakes, and the Chippewa flowage (Sawyer county).
16. Increase the minimum size restriction in Nelson, Sissabagama and Whitefish lakes from 15 to 18 inches and reduces the daily bag limit for walleye from 5 fish to 3 fish.
17. Change the panfish daily bag limit to 10 fish daily bag limit for all panfish all season on the Chippewa flowage, and creates a continuous open season for panfish. The previous panfish bag limits were 25 with no more than 15 crappie from the first Saturday in May until November 30 but no crappie from December 1 to the first Sunday in March, with fishing for panfish prohibited between the first Sunday in March and the first Saturday in May.
18. Increase the minimum size restriction for walleye in the Chippewa flowage from no minimum to 18 inches. The daily bag limit is unchanged at 3 walleye per day.
19. Make permanent the 45 inch minimum size restriction for muskellunge in Little St. Germain lake (Vilas county). The current 45-inch minimum regulation is scheduled to expire November 30, 2011.
20. Eliminate the minimum size restriction for largemouth and smallmouth bass in Middle McKenzie, Nancy and Long lakes (Washburn county).
21. Increase the minimum size restriction for walleye in Middle McKenzie (Washburn/ Burnett counties), Nancy and Long lakes (Washburn county) from 15 to 18 inches and reduces the daily bag limit for walleye from 5 fish to 3 fish.
22. Increase the minimum size restriction for northern pike on Big Muskego lake including Bass bay (Waukesha county) from 26 inches to 40 inches and reduces the daily bag limit from 2 to 1 fish.
23. Increase the minimum size restriction for bass in Marion Pond (Waupaca county) from 14 inches to 18 inches and reduces the daily angler bag limit from 5 to 1. This rule will expire on April 1, 2016.
24. Increase the minimum size restriction for northern pike in Marion pond (Waupaca county) from no minimum to 26 inches and reduces the daily angler bag limit from 5 to 2. This rule will expire April 1, 2016.
25. Decrease the minimum length restriction to 7 inches for all trout in the Waupaca river downstream of River road. Current regulations are 12 inches for brown trout and rainbow trout, and 8 inches for brook trout. It also increases the daily angler bag from 3 trout to 5 trout.
26. Prohibit night fishing from September 15 to the first Saturday in May in the section of the Oconto river from the upstream side of the US 141 Bridge to the Stiles dam (Oconto county).
27. Add a catch-and-release season for Lake Sturgeon on the St. Croix river from October 1 to 15. This section of the St. Croix river is a Wisconsin-Minnesota boundary water, and this section will make Wisconsin rules consistent with Minnesota rules.
28. Extend the largemouth and smallmouth bass fishing season on Wisconsin-Michigan boundary waters from November 30 to December 31. This will make Wisconsin and Michigan rules consistent.
29. Eliminate the following fish refuges: on the Chippewa flowage for 500 feet below Moose lake (Sawyer county), on Spider creek between Spider lake and State highway 77 (Sawyer county), on Island creek between Island and Black Dan lakes (Sawyer county), on Malviney creek (Sawyer county), on the unnamed tributary of Lake Chetac from Lake Chetac to 1000 feet upstream (Sawyer county), on the Brunet River from Lake Winter to 500 feet downstream (Sawyer county), on the Couderay river from the Grimh (Radisson) dam to 500 feet downstream (Sawyer county) and on the Little Turtle river and Turtle-Flambeau flowage 200 feet upstream of Popko's Circle road until 200 feet downstream of Popko's Circle road (Iron county).
30. Replace the current no minimum length limit and 14 to 18 inch protected slot with no minimum length limit but only 1 fish over 14" and increase the daily bag limit from 3 to 5 for walleye on the Three Lakes chain, Oneida County.
31. Replace the no minimum length limit but only 1 fish over 14" with a 15" minimum length limit for walleye on Sevenmile lake, Oneida County.
NOTICE IS HEREBY FURTHER GIVEN that at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, April 12, 2010, the Wisconsin Conservation Congress will hold its election of county delegates in each county. Upon completion of the delegate elections, the joint Spring Hearing/Conservation Congress meeting will convene to take comments on the foregoing rule modifications and Conservation Congress advisory questions.
Hearing Information
The hearings will be held on Monday, April 12, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. at the following locations:
Adams Adams County Courthouse
County Board Room, 402 Main Street
Friendship
Ashland Ashland Senior High School
1900 Beaser, Ashland
