Public Meetings Announced to Discuss Statewide Fishing Regulation Proposals

Meetings to be held in Northern Lake Huron, Southern Lake Michigan, and Northern Lake Michigan areas

Published: Tuesday, March 27, 2012 7:00 am
By: Michigan Department of Natural Resources

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Northern Lake Huron Management Unit in Fisheries Division, Southern Lake Michigan Management Unit in Fisheries Division, and Northern Lake Michigan Management Unit in Fisheries Division have all announced meetings to discuss local and statewide fishing regulation proposals.

Northern Lake Huron Management Unit in Fisheries Division

Meetings have been announced for Sault Ste. Marie, Cheboygan, Alpena, and Grayling. There will also be a short informational session to describe unit activities.

The meetings will be held on the following dates in the following locations:

Thursday, April 5, beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the Cisler Center on the campus of Lake Superior State University, 621 West Easterday Avenue, Sault Ste. Marie.
Thursday, April 12 beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the Cheboygan Sportsman’s Club, 13516 Seffren Road, Cheboygan.
Monday, April 16, beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, 500 W. Fletcher St., Alpena
Thursday, April 19, beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the Grayling Nature Park, 100 James St., Grayling

Several local regulation proposals will be discussed at the meetings, including the following:

Ocqueoc and Black river watersheds pike regulation, including addition of Tomahawk Lake, Ocqueoc Lake and Pug Lakes for no size limit on pike.
Trout (Carp) Lake pike regulation change (no size limit).
West Branch River trout stream designation boundary change of downstream limit

For more information on the Northern Lake Huron Management Unit meetings, contact David Borgeson at [email protected] or 989-732-3541 ext 5070.

Southwest Michigan: Southern Lake Michigan Management Unit in Fisheries Division

Meetings have been announced for Lansing, Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids areas.

The meetings will be held on the following dates in the following locations:

Monday, March 26 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Delta Township Library (5130 Davenport, Lansing)
Tuesday, March 27 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Portage Library (300 Library Lane, Portage)
Monday, April 23 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Plainfield Charter Township Office (6161 Belmont Ave, NE, Belmont)

Several local regulation proposals will be discussed at the meetings, including the following:

Removing Bluejay Creek (Berrien County) and Spring Creek (St. Joseph County) from the Designated Trout Streams list.
Removing Spring Creek (St. Joseph County) from the Type 4 Trout Streams List.
Removing Pike Lake and Lake 16 (Allegan County) from the Type C Trout Lakes list.
Implementing a new hook regulation on the South Branch Black River (Van Buren County) above Breedsville to prevent snagging.

For more information on the Southwest Michigan Management Unit meetings, contact Jay Wesley at [email protected] or (269) 685-6851, extension 117.

Northern Lake Michigan Management Unit in Fisheries Division

Meetings have been announced for Escanaba and Iron Mountain.

The meetings will be held on the following dates in the following locations:

Tuesday, March 27 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. (eastern time) at the Bay College Heirman Center Room 952, 2001 N. Lincoln Road in Escanaba.
Wednesday, March 28 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. (central time) at Bay College West, 2810 North U.S. 2, Iron Mountain.

Several local regulation proposals will be discussed at the meetings, including the following:

Removal of special fishing regulations on Fumee Lake, Dickinson County.
Removal of trout regulations on lakes that are no longer managed for trout (Section 1 Pond, Delta County; North Manistique Lake, Luce County; and Wolf Lake, Marquette County).

For more information on the Northern Lake Michigan Management Unit meetings, contact Jessica Mistak at [email protected] or (906) 786-2351, extension 127.

At each area meeting throughout the state, several statewide regulation proposals will also be discussed, including the following:

Brook trout daily possession limits for Upper Peninsula streams.
Northern pike size and possession limits.
Muskellunge size and possession limits.
Prohibiting the recreational take of the newly listed special concern species — queen snake and western lesser siren.

More specific information will be available at the public meetings and on the DNR’s website regarding all of the above statewide proposals. There will also be an opportunity to comment on these statewide proposals by email and through other public survey methods.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state's natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.