Eighth District Rep. Chip Cravaack wants the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to be the agency that oversees the licensing of guides on Mille Lacs Lake. He has introduced the Mille Lacs Lake Freedom to Fish Act in an effort to return the lake to state control.
At present, the United States Coast Guard has authority over certain activities on Mille Lacs Lake. “Currently, the U.S. Coast Guard is forcing all fishing guides, mostly college students, to spend time and money to obtain a federal boating license to bring fishermen out on Mille Lacs Lake. This license and associated costs put fishing guides on the hook for over $2,000,” Cravaack said in a statement made on the state’s fishing opener.
“The bottom line is the cost the federal government is imposing on obtaining the TWIC license for maritime workers and the six-pack certification for captains,” said George Nitti, owner of Nitti’s Hunters Point Resort. Less control from the federal government on Mille Lacs Lake is a good thing. Although I have a masters license, at my age I’m doubtful I could obtain the licensing due to the cost of the coursework,” Nitti stated.
(The Coast Guard regulation of guides does not apply to smaller guide operations that take fewer than six fishermen out at one time, according to Mille Lacs guide Tony Roach.)
“In March 2010, the U.S. Coast Guard ruled that Mille Lacs Lake was a federally navigable body of water, based on historical interstate commerce,” he stated.
That seems to be an extreme overstatement of fact. This is a matter of state’s rights. It’s a matter of overreaching by the federal government to control an inland waterway like Mille Lacs. Further, the DNR already patrols Mille Lacs and the duplication of services is a waste of taxpayer dollars in this already tight economy.
—Keith Hansen
Comments (5)
Add commentKeith
Your welcome. I have them all after me today so you should be safe.
Control to Tribe ????
Isn't Mille Lacs in treaty area ? Why isn't the Mille Lacs Band in control of Mille Lacs ?
Navigable waters
All navigable waters in the U.S. are under the jurisdiction of the U.S.C.G. That means any body of water connected by a river system connected to the ocean is considered a navigable water and that includes, Mille Lacs, Gull, Itasca, Big Sandy, Leech, Minnetonka, Superior, Winnibigoshish, so on and so on, and therefore falls under the jurisdiction of the Coast Guard.
merlyn3248,
the Vineland trust land borders about ten percent of the total lakeshore of Mille Lacs. That hardly makes them eligible for control of the entire lake.
Although they act like
they own the whole lake!