ORDER OF THE STATE OF WISCONSIN NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD
AMENDING RULES
The statement of scope for this rule, SS094-14, was approved by the Governor on August 27, 2014, published in Register No. 705 on October 1, 2014, and approved by the Natural Resources Board on October 29, 2014. The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board proposes an order to amend NR 20.10 (8) and (9); 20.20 (11) (c), (11) (k) 1., (16) (a), (16) (g) 1., (32) (f) 1., (37) (a), (37) (c) 1., (37) (e) 2., (37) (i) 1., (42) (e) 1., (44) (g) 1., (63) (c) 2. and 3., (64) (h) 2., (71) (a), (71) (c), (71) (cm), (71) (d), (71) (e), and (71) (g); relating to minor changes to fisheries administrative code.
FH-12-14
Analysis Prepared by the Department of Natural Resources
1. Statutes Interpreted: Sections 29.014 (1), 29.041, and 29.053 (2), Stats., have been interpreted as giving the department the authority to make changes to Wisconsin fishing rules. 2. Statutory Authority: Sections 29.014 (1), 29.041, and 29.053(2), Stats. 3. Explanation of Agency Authority:
Section 29.014 (1), Stats., directs the department to establish and maintain conditions governing the taking of fish that will conserve the fish supply and ensure the citizens of this state continued opportunities for good fishing. Section 29.041, Stats., provides that the department may regulate fishing on and in all interstate boundary waters and outlying waters. Section 29.053 (2), Stats., provides that the department may establish conditions governing the taking of fish for the state as a whole, for counties or parts of counties, or for waterbodies or parts of waterbodies. 4. Related Statutes or Rules:
If approved by the Natural Resources Board at its December meeting, the department will be concurrently proposing a rule (FH-14-14) that will make changes to fish size limits, bag limits, seasons, and other fishing regulations. The rule is being pursued to help meet management goals and objectives for waters and their fish species, such as providing a trophy walleye fishery or a bass fishery that maximizes predation on smaller fishes. The proposed regulations in FH-14-14 will be available for public review and comments at the Fish and Wildlife Spring Hearings held on the second Monday of April 2015.
5. Plain Language Analysis:
The proposed rule addresses minor changes to administrative code relating to the regulation of fishing. The rule is being pursued to ensure the rule language that governs fishing in inland, outlying, and boundary waters is accurate and properly reflects the desired management of Wisconsin waters. The objectives are to:
remove sections of code that are outdated or have been replaced by other statute or code changes,
correct errors that occurred during the drafting of rules, and
add or repeal language to clarify intent of original rules.SECTION 1 clarifies the boundaries around the Lake Winnebago System in which a spearer can possess an unregistered lake sturgeon. Updates are needed due to roadway construction and naming changes over time.
SECTION 2 changes the Columbia Lake (Columbia County) 18" minimum length limit and 3 daily bag limit on hybrid striped bass to no minimum length, no bag limit. Hybrid striped bass are considered an invasive species under NR 40, Wis. Adm. Code, and are therefore no longer imported and stocked in any Wisconsin waters. The department would like to continue to allow catch and harvest of any existing striped bass in Columbia Lake under a no minimum length-no bag limit regulation. If striped bass were removed from listing in administrative code, there would be no open season and none could be harvested under NR 20.20 (73)(p), which states all species not listed in NR 20.20 have no open season.
SECTION 2 also removes the current harvest regulations (18-inch minimum length limit and 3 fish daily bag limit) for walleye on Silver Lake (Columbia County). The lake has not been stocked with walleye since 2000 and there is no longer a population of walleye in the lake. Therefore, the special regulation is no longer necessary and can be removed from the lake and from listing in the regulations booklet. The regulation will return to the general statewide walleye regulation of 15-inch minimum length limit and 5 fish daily bag limit.
SECTION 3 reinstates the allowance of night fishing on the Brule River downstream from Hwy 2 for all species during the regular trout open season (first Saturday in May - September 30). It prohibits night fishing during the early trout open season (last Saturday in March to May 4) and extended trout open season (October 1 to November 15). The current regulation is an error in code that occurred when the administrative code was revised in 1992, and subsequently re-formatted and further misinterpreted in 1999. Although the unintended error was codified in 1999, it was not published as such in the Trout Regulations Guide until the 2012-2013 fishing season, causing confusion among anglers and law enforcement. The current regulation prohibits anglers from fishing at night during the entire open season on the Brule, which reduces the overall number of harvest and catch-and-release opportunities, particularly for brown trout, which are most active during the night. Making this change will return the regulations to what is commonly understood and enforced.
SECTION 4, 6, and 8 amend trout stream names in code to accurately reflect common names and reduce angler confusion of where regulations begin and end. In La Crosse and Monroe counties, the code language is changed to say “Coon creek (Bohemian Valley Creek)” instead of Bohemian Valley Creek. In Vernon County, the code language is changed to specify naming and regulations on sections of Coon Creek, which crosses CTH P in more than one place, and Timber Coulee Creek.
SECTION 5 extends the boundary of Wisconsin River regulations (year-round open season on bass, pike, walleye) another 100 feet on the connecting Eau Claire River in Marathon County. The Wisconsin River regulations currently apply up to the first bridge on the Eau Claire River. This proposal extends the regulations another 100 feet to the Schofield Dam, which is a prominent boundary that boaters cannot travel past and is how it is currently listed in the regulations booklet. Law Enforcement also enforces Schofield Dam as the regulation boundary. This extension will provide additional fishing opportunity to that small area of the river without any biological concerns.
SECTION 7 and SECTION 9 change the regulations boundary between the Three Lakes Chain in Oneida County and the Eagle Chain in Vilas County from the county border to the Long Lake (Burnt Rollways) Dam in Oneida County. The dam has been used locally as a border and is a more obvious boundary to anglers rather than an invisible county line.
SECTION 10 changes all listing of the Neenah-Menasha dam to “dams” in 20.20(71). There are two waterways and two dams that should be clarified in code.
SECTION 10 also makes set pole/bank pole/setline fishing open seasons for catfish and rough fish the same throughout all Lake Winnebago System waters in Winnebago County. Currently all set pole/bank pole/setline regulations for rough fish and catfish in Lake Winnebago System waters are the same except for the stretch of water between Lake Butte des Morts and Eureka Dam, where a season is open for catfish and closed for rough fish. This was a result of inadvertent wording of code language and there is no biological or management reason for applying the differing regulations for these methods of fishing. This amendment will make regulations governing rough fish angling methods the same throughout all Lake Winnebago System waters of Winnebago County.
6. Summary of, and Comparison with, Existing or Proposed Federal Statutes and Regulations:
Authority to promulgate fishing regulations is granted to states. None of the proposed changes violate or conflict with federal regulations.
7. Comparison with Similar Rules in Adjacent States:
Fisheries management rules are generally similar in the states surrounding Wisconsin. Each bordering state regulates fishing by the use of seasons, bag limits and size limits. Specific seasons and bag and size limits may differ for species among the surrounding states, but the general principles are similar. Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois all have statewide seasons and bag and size limits for fish species, along with special or experimental regulations on individual waters.
8. Summary of Factual Data and Analytical Methodologies:
Fishing regulations, such as length and bag limits or season dates, are used as a tool to ensure good fishing exists into the future. The department has used different types of fishing regulations in order to: control angler impacts on fish populations; maintain numbers and sizes of fish in a lake or stream; provide different types of fishing experiences, such as fishing for dinner or for a trophy fish; and make access to fishing as fair as possible.
This rule includes minor changes to administrative code that support existing policies and fisheries management goals. The department took steps to insure the accuracy, integrity, objectivity and consistency of data were used in preparing the proposed rule and related analysis.
