MN-FISH – Letter to Governor Tim Walz
March 6, 2026
Governor Tim Walz
130 State Capitol
75 Rev Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55155
Dear Governor Walz,
The MN-FISH Sportfishing Foundation and Coalition were created for the sole purpose of improving fishing throughout Minnesota.
Over the years we have worked to learn more about the MN DNR Section of Fisheries’ management practices, objectives, and needs for managing Minnesota culturally- and economically-critical fisheries resources.
To our surprise, we have learned DNR Fisheries has lost approximately 80 FTEs through attrition over the past two decades. This has led to regression of the very management practices needed to ensure healthy fish populations for the fee payers of Minnesota.
As we have shared with you, fishing/boating generates $6.6 billion annually for our state’s economy and thus contributes greatly to the tax revenues enjoyed by the state. To date there are no general fund dollars invested into fisheries management.
In our conversations with MN DNR Fisheries, we have identified three key programs where budgets need to be restored so fisheries managers have needed management tools. These programs are the foundation of fisheries management.
- Fish population assessments: Population surveys help managers understand what is happening in individual lakes. Surveys must be done every 3-4 years to provide accurate population data. While the state’s large lakes receive regular population assessments, survey frequency on the rest of our public lakes has significantly decreased. Many are now conducted only every 8-10 years, some even less frequently.
- Creel surveys: Focusing on angler success, creel surveys provide an understanding of changing fishing pressure and angling success. Because of budget restraints, DNR conducts very few creel surveys to determine angling success.
- Stocking rates: The bulk of the lakes impacted by the proposed walleye limit reduction are regularly or wholly stocked to maintain good fishing. The stocking rate on these lakes must increase along with continued research and experimentation to find the right formula to improve fishing statewide.
How important is fisheries investment? The proposal from MN DNR to reduce the walleye limit from 6 to 4 is an indication of the challenges facing our fisheries today and in the future. We are now asking fisheries managers to identify and address dynamics without providing the budgets needed to be as effective as possible. Inadequate budget means inadequate fisheries management, which leads to poor fishing: not what we all want.
While MN-FISH and state anglers greatly thank you for your support of infrastructure projects like the Waterville fish hatchery and public water access, we ask on behalf of the more than 1 million fishing license buyers that you consider restoring MN DNR Fisheries Operational budget in a supplemental budget request this session. Our estimates would be $10 - 12 million annually just to restore this critical management that somehow has fallen through the cracks of government budgeting.
Respectfully,
Ron Schara Dave Osborne
President—MN-FISH Foundation President—MN-FISH Coalition
Tom Neustrom
Board Member – MN-FISH