DNR about-face on gill nets cannot be supported by its own science

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division has a proud, well-deserved legacy of leadership in restoring balanced fish communities to the Great Lakes.  A central element of this legacy was the Department’s recognition that lake trout restoration was all but impossible so long as tens of millions of feet of non-selective, lethal gill nets…

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MDNR Consent Decree Facts Wrong, Grossly Misleading

Recreational fishers may have received an email from the MDNR suggesting that all is well with a new proposed agreement between the State and four out of five tribes with Treaty preserved fishing rights in the northern Great Lakes. These FAQs are either false or grossly misleading. The issues involve how the Great Lakes fishery…

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Possible consequences of proposed Great Lakes Consent Decree

The proposed consent decree fails to address resource limitations and proposes actions that would increase fishing pressure.  Such actions at this time of resource crisis constitute the State of Michigan’s abdication of its Public Trust responsibility to protect fishery resources on behalf of the Citizens of Michigan. They also constitute an abdication of the Tribes’…

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New Consent Decree Jeopardizes Sustainability of Great Lakes Fishery Resources and the Fishers that Depend on Them

Introduction The recently released draft Consent Decree between the State of Michigan, the United States, and four of the five tribes with fishing rights under the Treaty of 1836 represents a huge step backward in the protection and stewardship of Michigan’s fragile Great Lakes fisheries. The State of Michigan, in negotiating this proposed Decree, abandoned…

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Great Lakes Consent Decree negotiations tangled up

Fishing Boat near Whitefish Point, Michigan

The Coalition to Protect Michigan Resources depends on donations to pay for legal fees related to the negotiations. Please consider donating any amount you can to help us stay in the fight. Recent court filings by a conservation coalition, tribes and others embroiled in fishery negotiations show how far the three-year process still has to…

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MUCC Executive Director Amy Trotter talks the ongoing Consent Decree

Learn more about what is happening with the ongoing Consent Decree, the court filings and the Coalition to Protect Michigan Resources’ request to be granted intervenor status in this recent podcast. Listen to the Mike Avery Outdoors Podcast segment with Amy here: https://bit.ly/fall2022pod The original CPMR filing reads: “The breakdown in the relationship with the…

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