Muskie Issues

Minnesotans for Family Fishing and Healthy Lakes

February 7, 2017 Update

Outreach to Minnesota Legislature Needed

In order to make headway at the state legislature, we need your help! Please contact the Governor, Lt. Governor, members of the Minnesota Senate Environment and Natural Resources Finance Committee, members of the Minnesota Senate Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Legacy Finance Committee, and members of the House Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee. Please tell them to stop stocking muskies in non-native lakes. We need to flood them with calls, emails, and letters! Also, please contact your state senators and representatives, and let them know we need their involvement and support on this issue. We need to do this as soon as possible, and we appreciate your help!

Also, if you have not done so already, visit the MFFHL website for all of the news and updates on MFFHL and join our MFFHL database so we can email you directly with updates on our effort to "take back family fishing in Minnesota".

Tips from a legislative staffer:

If calling, your call will either go to voicemail, or will be answered by a staff person whose job it is to keep a record of all incoming messages. You will not need to get into a discussion with anyone, so don’t feel intimidated about calling. If a staff person answers, please thank them for taking your call.

It is best to keep your message brief.

Example: “My name is Jane Smith, and I am a Minnesota voter and tax payer. I am a property owner on _________ Lake. Please stop the DNR from stocking unwanted and costly muskies in non-native lakes.”

Emails and letters should also be brief, but they could include a few reasons why you do not want muskies stocked in non-native lakes. Many of the senators use an email form which is cumbersome, and requires you to submit your zip-code. If your zip-code is not in the senator’s area, your comments may not be valued as much as someone’s from their district.

A mailed letter is said to hold more weight than email, and it may actually be easier than dealing with the email forms. It would be great if you could both call and write letters or emails!

Example: I am a Minnesota voter and tax payer. I am a property owner on ___________ Lake.

Please stop the DNR from stocking muskies in non-native lakes. The DNR is using outdated studies to support stocking. There are no studies on the impact of muskies on walleyes in lakes that are infested with zebra mussels. Zebra mussels filter the zooplankton and walleyes are starving. Adding muskies, a top predator species, will further damage the walleye population and the delicate lake eco-system that is stressed by AIS. Muskies are ranked 13th in popularity by Minnesota fishermen. Muskie stocking and management is very expensive. In light of the MNDNRF’s budget crisis, musky stocking is a poor use of funds.

For your convenience, please find the contact information for the Governor, Lt. Governor, and legislative committee members listed on the following pages. If an email address is not listed, you must use the email form on the the Governor’s or senate website. Contact info for senators and representatives may be found at www.senate.mn and www.house.leg.state.mn.us.

Contact Information

Governor Mark Dayton

Office of the Governor

130 State Capitol

75 Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

St. Paul, MN 55155

651 201-3400

Email form at mn.gov

Lt. Governor Tina Smith

130 State Capitol

75 Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

St. Paul, MN 55155

651 201-3400

Email form at mn.gov

Senator Bill Ingebrigtsen

Chair, Environment and Natural Resources Finance Committee

3207 Minnesota Senate Bldg

St. Paul, MN 55155

651 297-8063

sen.bill.ingebrigtsen@senate.mn

Senator Carrie Ruud, Chair

Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Legacy Finance Committee

3233 Minnesota Senate Bldg

St. Paul, MN 55155

651 296-4913

sen.carrie.ruud@senate.mn

Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee Members

Thomas M. Bakk

2221 Minnesota Senate Bldg

St. Paul, MN 55155

651 296-8881

Jim Carlson

2207 Minnesota Senate Bldg

St. Paul, MN 55155

651 297-8073

Steve A. Cwodzinski

2319 Minnesota Senate Bldg

St. Paul, MN 55155

651 296-1314

D. Scott Dibble

2213 Minnesota Senate Bldg

St. Paul, MN 55155

651 296-4191

Kari Dziedzic

2203 Minnesota Senate Bldg

St. Paul, MN 55155

651 296-7809

Chris A. Eaton

2403 Minnesota Senate Bldg

St. Paul, MN 55155

651 296-8869

Justin D. Eichorn

3213 Minnesota Senate Bldg.

St. Paul, MN 55155

651 296-7079

Foung Hawj

3413 Minnesota Senate Bldg

St. Paul, MN 55155

651 296-5285

Mark Johnson

2105 Minnesota Senate Bldg

St. Paul, MN 55155

651 298-5782

Mark W. Koran

3101 Minnesota Senate Bldg

St. Paul, MN 55155

651 296-5419

Andrew R. Lang

3205 Minnesota Senate Bldg

St. Paul, MN 55155

651 296-4918

Andrew Mathews

3409 Minnesota Senate Bldg

St. Paul, MN 55155

651 296-5252

David H. Senjem

3401 Minnesota Senate Bldg

St. Paul, MN 55155

651 296-3903

sen.david.senjem@senate.mn

Erik Simonson

2417 Minnesota Senate Bldg

St. Paul, MN 55155

651 296-4188

sen.erik.simonson@senate.mn

David J. Tomassoni

2235 Minnesota Senate Bldg

St. Paul, MN 55155

651 296-8017

Patricia Torres Ray

2225 Minnesota Senate Bldg

St. Paul, MN 55155

651 296-4274

Bill Weber

2109 Minnesota Senate Bldg

St. Paul, MN 55155

651 296-5650

sen.bill.weber@senate.mn

House Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee

Rep. Dan Fabian, Chair

359 State Office Bldg