DNR seeks comments on Grand Marais area lake and stream management plans (published October 25, 2021)

People interested in the strategies the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources uses for managing fisheries in Grand Marais-area lakes and streams are encouraged to submit comments on management plans scheduled for review this winter. This annual review process includes several waters located within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW).

Comments on fish management for lakes and streams in the Grand Marais area will be accepted through Tuesday, Dec. 21. 

A management plan identifies specific fisheries management activities planned for a lake or stream over the next five to 20 years, including any proposed stocking or special regulations.

“The management plans are great resources for anglers and anybody else interested in our lakes and streams,” said Steve Persons, Grand Marais area fisheries supervisor. “They document where we’ve been, where we’d like to go, and how we hope to get there.”

Comments and suggestions from people who care about waters in this area are crucial when it comes to determining how those public waters should be managed. Feedback from the public is an important consideration in determining management success.

The DNR will review plans this winter for the following Grand Marais-area lakes and streams:

Lakes The status and preservation of lake trout populations and fisheries will be the primary concern in plans being reviewed for Bat, Gneiss, Loon, Misquah and Moss lakes. Bat, Gneiss and Misquah lakes are located inside the BWCAW.

Stream trout stocking and management strategies will be reviewed for Bogus, Dislocation, Esther and Lima lakes. Trout management will continue in all four lakes, but species, sizes and numbers stocked will be reviewed.

Plans for Benson, Binagami, Little Cascade, Clara, Crab, Devilfish, Logger, Mauser, Pickerel, West Pope, Star, Stevens, and White Pine lakes will be reviewed. In these lakes the status and needs of walleye, northern pike, panfish or smallmouth bass fisheries will be of most concern. 

Plans for several lightly-used BWCAW lakes in the area including Allen, Kelly, Peterson, Rove, and Watap lakes will be reviewed. Those plans will be revised primarily to incorporate new survey data and to establish survey schedules for the next few years.

Streams Plans for Bally Creek, Kadunce Creek, and Pike Lake Creek will be reviewed. Bally and Kadunce Creeks are important brook trout streams, and Kadunce Creek is one of the area’s best streams for steelhead. Plans will address habitat needs and means of improving the resilience of streams and their watersheds in the face of climate change.

For more information, to request copies of current plans, or to discuss the plans, call or email Steve Persons at 218-387-6022 or [email protected]. 

This comment period will extend through Dec. 21; however, comments, suggestions and other feedback on the management of these and all other streams and lakes in the area are welcomed at any time and will be considered when those plans are next due for review.