MN Muskie Stocking Proposal - Act Now!

The Minnesota DNR is opening a public comment period to receive input on their proposed stocking plan. I urge you to help by taking a couple minutes to send an e-mail. Attending one of the meetings would be best of all, but a couple minutes for an e-mail isn't much to ask.

This is from Dennis Anderson, Star Tribune, August 11, 2010:
The DNR will hold seven meetings Sept. 2 to discuss new muskie stocking proposals. Comments can be e-mailed to muskie.comments @state.mn.us from Sept. 1-30 and by mail to Muskie Stocking Proposals, Minnesota DNR, 1201 East Highway 2, Grand Rapids, MN, 55744. Meetings will be in Owatonna, Brainerd, Mankato, Waterville, St. Paul, Montrose and Cold Spring. More information is available at mndnr.gov/muskie.

Note that it says that the open comment period is from Sept. 1-30. I'm posting this information now so anyone able to attend a meeting can plan now and mark their calendar. I'll post another reminder when the comment period actually opens.

If you're a muskie angler in Minnesota, or visit Minnesota waters, this issue should be of great interest and it's crucial that you participate. It's important that your voice is heard and that you encourage the development of new musky waters to help alleviate the increase in fishing pressure. I'll provide a sample letter or at least suggest some key points in a future post when the comment period is open. In the meantime, please, check your calendar to see if you can attend a meeting Sept. 2nd. Even if it involves a bit of a drive, please attend a meeting and be sure to comment. Better yet, talk to a few of your fishing buddies and make a road trip to one of the meetings. Attending with some friends will make a meeting less boring for you, you'll be more likely to make your comment heard, and you'll be bringing more people to the meeting. I'm sure the short article in the Star Tribune didn't go unnoticed by those opposed to musky stocking, so it's inportant that those in favor of stocking make their opinion heard.

I know life is busy and there are many things in life that are more important than fishing, but please do as much as you can during the meeting and comment period to help encourage the development of new muskie lakes in Minnesota.

Please take a minute to read the previous post to get more background on this information. If you haven't yet taken a couple minutes out of your busy life to stand up in favor of additional MN muskie stocking, you're running out of time. The time for attending a meeting or sending an letter has already passed, but you can still make you voice heard. Please, please, please, send an e-mail to the DNR to support the creation of additional muskie lakes. DO IT THE MOMENT YOU FINISH READING THIS, DON'T WAIT ANOTHER MINUTE.

Send an e-mail to: muskie.comments@state.mn.us

Don't worry about the style and composition of your e-mail, you aren't being graded. The important thing is to be heard. But, you e-mail will be more effective if you follow a few general guidelines and hit a few key points. I suggest the following:

1. Be sure to include your name, address, and phone number. This contact information will give your e-mail far more credibility. Don't worry about being contacted or any other concerns - make sure it's in your e-mail.
2. According to the DNR's own survey information, muskie fishing is the fastest-growing type of fishing in Minnesota. New muskie waters are needed to support this growth.
3. A new muskie lake hasn't been created in a long, long time. By the time the new lakes have a fishable population, it'll already be too little, too late.
4. This is not exclusively a walleye state and the DNR has to manage the fisheries accordingly, without bowing to the tyranny of the majority.
5. New lakes are crucial to protecting the sustainablility of the current lakes. The fishing on the current lakes is getting more and more pressure, especially in the past 5-10 years. Increased pressure on existing lakes diminishes the fishing experience, and worse, increases the wear and tear on the fish from post-release mortality (I hope you release them all, duh!) and such. The MN DNR has created an incomparable muskie fishery that's the envy of the rest of North America. It would be a shame for the DNR to invest 30-40 years of time and money to create this awesome fishery, only to have it crushed by pressure.
6. Be calm and concise. Don't rant.

That's more than enough. DO NOT resume web surfing and cruising the message boards. Stop what you're doing and take two minutes to send an e-mail NOW!!!

(Well, if you were about to call me to book a guided trip on Mille Lacs, that's OK, you can call me right away, then send the e-mail)