Legislative Director Report
Legislative Liaison Director of Minnesota Trappers Association
Dark River Update
After more than two years of internal MTA meetings, a joint field inspection of the Dark River Fisheries Project site by MTA district representatives and Dark River Basin Association (DRBA) officers and several discussions with various Minnesota DNR Fisheries Section personnel, there has been very little progress towards a meeting of the minds. Fisheries staffers still seem to consider beaver to be their mortal enemy. This is in spite of the fact that the project is “currently off the books” because of the public objection voiced by the DRBA and the MTA, apparent abandonment by the federal managers formerly associated with the project because they neither completed an environmental review nor gave it a negative declaration (official statement that they believed no negative impacts would result from the project). Fisheries must be cognizant of the stated and implied disenchantment with their enthusiasm for the project.
All hope is not lost because there is evidence of a silver lining for this cloud. Fish and Wildlife Director, Ed Boggess has told us he will have discussions with Fisheries regarding projects like the one they proposed for the Dark. He is familiar with the ancient rift between fisheries and wildlife staffers on the subject of beaver removal associated with trout stream management. We gave given Ed our view of obvious shortcomings in the DNR’s application of environmental review requirements as it applies to basin-wide beaver removal for trout management. That is, that they should follow environmental review procedures which require project proposers to list any environmental impacts that project might have. Our view is that extensive beaver trapping and removal of their dams causes significant environmental impact and should be seriously considered before any stream fish management project is undertaken.
We know there are DNR folks familiar with both environmental review philosophy and the actual Minnesota review requirements who should have asked for a much deeper investigation into impacts of the Dark River Project. We believe that had the impacts of extensive beaver trapping for trout stream management been brought to light in this project’s planning stages, it would not have progressed as far as it did and would not have wasted the time and money that might have been spent in a better venture.