DNR seeks comments on Grand Marais area lake and stream management plans

Anglers and others interested in Department of Natural Resources strategies for managing Grand Marais-area lakes and streams are invited to review and comment on management plans scheduled for review this fall.

This annual process includes several waters located within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). Comments on lakes within the BWCAW will be accepted until Dec. 20. The comment period for lakes and streams outside the BWCAW will extend through Feb. 15.

A management plan identifies specific management activities planned for a lake or stream over the next five to 20 years, including any proposed stocking or special regulations.

“Management plans are our best single sources of information on past, present and desired future conditions in our lakes and streams,” said Steve Persons, Grand Marais area fisheries supervisor. “Comments and suggestions from those most interested in these waters are crucial when it comes to making plans and determining management success. For anglers this is the best opportunity to influence how these lakes and streams are managed.”

Lake plans under review:

. The status and preservation of native lake trout populations will be the primary concern in plans being revised for Blue Snow and Gabimichigami lakes. Both are located inside the BWCAW.

. Stream trout stocking and management strategies will be reviewed in Thompson, Thrush, Turnip, Olson, Kraut, Little Portage, Olga, Mavis (BWCAW), Missing Link (BWCAW), Meditation (BWCAW), Talus, Trout, Pine (near Two Island Lake), Unnamed (near Tom Lake), Chester, Extortion, and North Shady lakes. Options to consider include changes in species, reductions in stocking frequency, and changes in the number or size of fish stocked.

. In Mine, Peanut, Weasel (Sled), Tomato, Trip, and Rog (BWCAW) lakes, fisheries managers are considering eliminating trout stocking, due to the high cost of stocking remote lakes by air, poor survival of stocked fish, or use that appears to have been too low to justify the cost of continued stocking. Angler feedback on fisheries in these lakes is critically needed for these important decisions.