Activities in I Falls Fisheries Management Area

The office has five full-time field staff.

• Manage fisheries on 151 lakes covering 147,000 acres, including Rainy, Kabetogama, Namakan and Sand Point Lakes.

• Manage 220 rivers and streams, including 14 designated trout streams and several large rivers (Rainy, Littlefork, Bigfork, Vermilion, Sturgeon).

• Manage eight lakes for lake trout ? four stocked every other year with lake trout yearlings.

• Manage 32 lakes for walleye, six with experimental regulations (size and bag limits).

• Stock eight lakes regularly with walleye fingerlings; approximately 32,000 fish per year.

• Stock two designated trout streams annually with brook trout (Lost River and Trout Brook).

• Manage three lakes (Pelican, Ash, Elephant) for quality northern pike fisheries with protected slot limits.

• Manage Pelican Lake for a quality bass fishery with a protected slot limit.

• Complete approximately 12 lake surveys and fish population assessments, one stream survey, creel surveys, and large lake monitoring each year.

• Develop approximately 12 lake and stream management plans each year with public input.

• Review permit applications for projects with potential impacts to aquatic resources.

• Participate in local planning efforts (e.g. County Water and Timber Plans) to minimize impacts to fish habitat and water quality.

• Collaborate with Rainy Lake Sportfishing Club to enhance the walleye fishery of Rainy Lake.

• Permit and monitor approximately six fishing tournaments per year.

• Permit and monitor one commercial fisherman.

• Monitor waters for new aquatic invasive species and prevent the spread of those already here.

• Work with local partners to develop good habitat improvement proposals for conservation funding.

• Collaborate with state, provincial and federal agencies to manage shared fisheries resources.

• Assist in developing safe consumption guidelines.

• Monitor lake sturgeon harvest and population.

• Provide educational materials/displays at sports shows, county fairs, fishing openers.

• Teach area fifth graders about fish and fish habitat.

• Conduct research projects such as walleye tagging on the Rat Root River to learn more about walleye spawning habits on Rainy Lake and identify spawning areas for potential enhancement.

International Falls case studies

DNR Staff Report

When walleye spawning habitat degraded in an important tributary to Rainy Lake, a collaborative effort between conservation groups, and local and state governments is what was needed to start making positive changes.

It's that type of collaboration that International Falls Area Fisheries Supervisor Kevin Peterson is most concerned about losing if the Game and Fish Fund is not adequately funded.

The number of walleye returning to the Rat Root River to spawn each spring has been steadily declining since the 1950s. What was once an important tributary to Rainy Lake had been deteriorating due to land use changes, soil erosion and log jams that prevented fish from thriving in what was once a productive spawning area.

The Rainy Lake Sportfishing Club and DNR fisheries staff worked closely with local governments to collaborate on a restoration project to begin the work of restoring this once healthy tributary.

To support the group's application for a Legacy Fund grant, DNR fisheries staff increased their monitoring efforts in the Rat Root River, including a walleye tagging study. The tagging study has shown the importance of this spawning run to all of Rainy Lake by documenting dispersal back to the North Arm basin, which lies entirely in Ontario.

With technical support provided by DNR staff, the Rainy Lake Sportfishing Club and the Soil & Water Conservation District were able to secure $277,500 to begin the work of restoring 15 miles of river spawning habitat.

The DNR plans to maintain its walleye tagging and monitoring as it has in previous years and hopes to increase survey work to locate erosion sites for future repair projects and further improve walleye spawning habitat.