RULE TEXT
Section 1 NR 26.01 (41), (45), and (69) (e) to (g) are created to read:
NR 26.01
COUNTY | WATERS | REFUGE BOUNDARIES | START DATE | END DATE |
(41) Milwaukee | (a) Milwaukee river | From 30 feet upstream of the upstream end of the Kletzsch Park dam fish passage to 30 feet downstream of the fish passage with the boundary extending westward to the Milwaukee river island at 43°7ʹ59.736ʺN, 87°55ʹ12ʺW | Continuous | Continuous |
(45) Outagamie | (a) Spoehrs marsh | Flooded woodland and marsh areas located adjacent to the Wolf River within the W ½ of section 4, E ½ of section 5, NE ¼ of the NE ¼ of section 8, and NW ¼ of the NW ¼ of section 9 T23N, R16E | March 15 | Friday preceding first Saturday in May |
| (b) Lockers marsh | Flooded woodland and marsh areas located adjacent to the Wolf River within the SW ¼ of section 16 and NW ¼ of section 21 T23N, R16E | March 15 | Friday preceding first Saturday in May |
| (c) Kalwitz marsh | Flooded woodland and marsh areas located adjacent to the Wolf River within the SE ½ of section 7 and the N ½ of NE ¼ of section 18 T22N, R15E | March 15 | Friday preceding first Saturday in May |
(69) Waupaca | (e) Jenny bayou | Flooded woodland and marsh areas located adjacent to the Wolf River within the NE ¼ of section 12 T21N, R13E, the NW ¼ of section 7, and the SW ¼ of section 6 T21N, R14E | March 15 | Friday preceding first Saturday in May |
| (f) Miller bayou | Flooded woodland and marsh areas located adjacent to the Wolf River within the E ½ of the NE ¼ of section 24 and the SE ¼ of the SE ¼ of section 13 T21N, R13E | March 15 | Friday preceding first Saturday in May |
| (g) Muckwa marsh | Flooded woodland and marsh areas located adjacent to the Wolf River within the N ½ of section 15 and the S ½ of section 10 T22N, R14E | March 15 | Friday preceding first Saturday in May |
Section 2 NR 26.03 is created to read:
NR 26.03 Establishment of temporary fish refuges.
(1) Criteria. Pursuant to sub. (2), the department may establish a temporary fish refuge on a water or part of a water when it finds through scientific investigation, fish population monitoring, or documentation of fish movement that fish have become concentrated and vulnerable to harvest and are in need of immediate protection due to at least one of the following:
(a) A fish passage, fishway, or similar structure has been installed to allow fish to move past a barrier to access additional areas of their natural range, and continued fishing may result in a depletion of the game fish supply due to the new movement patterns of fish in or around the structure.
(b) The department has authorized a habitat or waterway project that may temporarily impact the distribution of fish in the waterbody into a smaller area.
(c) New information or a change in conditions affecting one or more fish populations in the waterbody warrants the establishment of a temporary fish refuge to address an imminent conservation need.
(2) Procedures. Upon making a determination under sub. (1) that a temporary fish refuge is warranted, the department shall do all of the following:
(a) Prepare and distribute a notice of its intent to establish a temporary fish refuge under this section. The notice shall be published as a class 1 notice under ch. 985, Stats., in a general circulation newspaper in the vicinity of the water and, if the proposal has statewide significance, in the official state newspaper. A copy of the notice shall be sent to individuals and organizations which the department believes may be interested in the matter. The notice shall include a description of the water or part of the water that will be included in the temporary fish refuge, the effective date of the refuge, the proposed annual date range for the refuge, the location where the public may send comments on the proposal or request a public informational meeting, and the deadline for submitting comments or requesting a public meeting. (b) If requested by the public in writing within 10 days of publication of the notice under par. (a), hold one or more public information meetings in the vicinity of the proposed temporary fish refuge, at which the department shall describe the factual basis for the temporary fish refuge and shall take public comments.
(c) If, based on the factual basis for the temporary fish refuge and public comments received, the department decides to proceed with establishment of the temporary fish refuge, the department shall issue an order establishing the fish refuge.
(d) Within 30 days of the order establishing the temporary fish refuge under par. (c), the department shall post notice of the fish refuge at public access sites in the vicinity of the fish refuge that shall contain the boundary descriptions of the fish refuge and the annual date range during which the fish refuge shall be in effect.
(3) Effective period. A temporary fish refuge established under this section shall remain in effect until three years following the effective date of the refuge, until the end of the project, or until the department has determined that fish no longer congregate either seasonally or continuously in the area of the fish refuge, whichever occurs first. Upon discontinuing a fish refuge, the department shall publish notice of discontinuation of the fish refuge in the state newspaper and shall remove the notices posted in the vicinity of the fish refuge.
Section 3. Effective Date. This rule takes effect on the first day of the month following publication in the Wisconsin Administrative Register as provided in s. 227.22 (2) (intro.), Stats. Section 4. Board adoption. This rule was approved and adopted by the State of Wisconsin Natural Resources Board on [DATE].
Dated at Madison, Wisconsin _____________________________.
STATE OF WISCONSIN
DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
BY ______________________________________
Steven Little, Deputy Secretary
