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SE Wisconsin collecting


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#1 TimothyHD

TimothyHD
  • NANFA Guest
  • Menomonee Falls, WI

Posted 01 May 2017 - 02:21 PM

I'm new to the Native Fish side of things and am exploring.  I was excited about the idea of local collecting, but noticed that WI has a lot of rules due to VHS.  Anyone in SE WI have any tips?  I live in Menomonee Falls, just NE of Milwaukee. Thanks.



#2 mattknepley

mattknepley
  • NANFA Member
  • Smack-dab between the Savannah and the Saluda.

Posted 02 May 2017 - 05:28 AM

Welcome! I'm not familiar with WI legalities but am under the impression they can be stringent. You are wise, and responsible, to ask for clarification; and for that you are to be commended. Hopefully those with more concrete intel will chime in soon, but til then, once again, "Welcome aboard, glad to have ya!"
Matt Knepley
"No thanks, a third of a gopher would merely arouse my appetite..."

#3 Michael Wolfe

Michael Wolfe
  • Board of Directors
  • North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 02 May 2017 - 07:34 AM

Agree with Matt. And I don't have any experience up there either. But there's lots of information listed out by state in under Regulations & Laws sub-forum
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

#4 sunny17

sunny17
  • NANFA Member

Posted 03 May 2017 - 11:23 AM

Basically, due to VHS rules you cannot remove fish alive and in water from any body of water in Wisconsin.  You can keep native fish in a tank as long as you obtain them from a VHS certified free source and keep the receipt of sale. Definitely good info on Wisconsin regs. in the Regulations and Laws sub-forum!



#5 TimothyHD

TimothyHD
  • NANFA Guest
  • Menomonee Falls, WI

Posted 08 June 2017 - 09:36 AM

I've communicated with the WI DNR fish guy. With a bait dealer permit and a wild harvest application, I will be able to collect from non-VHS infected waters.  Permit app is in the mail!



#6 Rebecca8

Rebecca8
  • NANFA Guest
  • America

Posted 02 October 2017 - 10:13 PM

I also search some useful tips.



#7 riverman1

riverman1
  • NANFA Guest
  • Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin

Posted 21 May 2018 - 01:29 PM

I am a Wisconsin resident and just wanted to follow this post. Thanks!



#8 Matt DeLaVega

Matt DeLaVega
  • Forum Staff
  • Ohio

Posted 21 May 2018 - 05:22 PM

Contact this guy. I really don't know Brian, but he surely knows the rules inside and out. I know for sure that he has done everything he can to do his thing and break no laws. http://www.btdarters.com/


The member formerly known as Skipjack


#9 riverman1

riverman1
  • NANFA Guest
  • Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin

Posted 22 May 2018 - 01:41 PM

Contact this guy. I really don't know Brian, but he surely knows the rules inside and out. I know for sure that he has done everything he can to do his thing and break no laws. http://www.btdarters.com/

Thank You!



#10 TimothyHD

TimothyHD
  • NANFA Guest
  • Menomonee Falls, WI

Posted 23 May 2018 - 10:21 AM

Joe Bevington is my main contact at the State DNR.  I haven't talked to him this year as I don't plan on collecting.  He set me up with a Bait dealer permit and wild harvest permit.  However, this only applies to bait fish.  Rough fish and Game fish currently can only be harvested and live transported with commercial fishing permit and then another permit for live transport.  I've talked with him about some sort of Hobbiest permit and he was interested, but nothing much has happened.  

 

his email is Joseph.Bevington@wisconsin.gov 

Phone 608-264-9257

 

Very personable guy and interested in what we do.



#11 Bsfishes

Bsfishes
  • NANFA Guest
  • Stoughton, WI

Posted 10 July 2018 - 06:11 AM

Thank you TimothyHD, I went ahead and contacted joe. He was quite helpful. Below is his response. He said that quite a few people have contacted him re:inquiry of a hobbiest permit. He is going to bring it up in a meeting, but Im sure the more inquiries, the better. Im sure attending a public hearing or submitting a rule proposal would be even better. I am strongly considering doing so. Ive never done anything like this, but I really would love to have native fish in an aquarium and I have been hard pressed trying to find a WI fish farmer who will sell me a couple fish. They only deal with ponds. If anyone is interested, I would encourage you to participate.

Thanks for reaching out. I have had a few people recently inquire about collecting native gamefish for the purpose of personal aquarium use. Currently, the only legal avenue to collect, transport and possess live native Wisconsin fish is to purchase a Bait Dealer License and apply for a Wild Bait Harvest Permit, much like a bait and tackle shop. However, this permit only applies to species such as shiners, minnows, dace, chubs and suckers, not gamefish.

Since there has been a recent uptick in the number of people inquiring about hobbiest aquarium permits, I will be sure to bring it up at our next policy team meeting. Another option would be for you to attend one of our public hearings, or submit a rule proposal to your local state senator or assemblyperson. Information and guidelines regarding rule proposals can be found here.

Hopefully this information helps. If there are any other questions, please dont hesitate to reach out.

Best Regards,

We are committed to service excellence.
Visit our survey at http://dnr.wi.gov/customersurveyto evaluate how I did.

Joe Bevington
Permits Coordinator Bureau of Fisheries Management
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
101 South Webster St. Madison, WI 53707
Phone: (608) 264-9257
Fax: (608) 266-2244
Email: Joseph.Bevington@wisconsin.gov

#12 Michael Wolfe

Michael Wolfe
  • Board of Directors
  • North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 10 July 2018 - 06:04 PM

Very well done.  Glad to see native fish people talking to their local DNR folks.  Keep us informed.


Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

#13 Bsfishes

Bsfishes
  • NANFA Guest
  • Stoughton, WI

Posted 11 July 2018 - 07:52 AM

Thank you TimothyHD, I went ahead and contacted joe. He was quite helpful. Below is his response. He said that quite a few people have contacted him re:inquiry of a hobbiest permit. He is going to bring it up in a meeting, but Im sure the more inquiries, the better. Im sure attending a public hearing or submitting a rule proposal would be even better. I am strongly considering doing so. Ive never done anything like this, but I really would love to have native fish in an aquarium and I have been hard pressed trying to find a WI fish farmer who will sell me a couple fish. They only deal with ponds. If anyone is interested, I would encourage you to participate.

Thanks for reaching out. I have had a few people recently inquire about collecting native gamefish for the purpose of personal aquarium use. Currently, the only legal avenue to collect, transport and possess live native Wisconsin fish is to purchase a Bait Dealer License and apply for a Wild Bait Harvest Permit, much like a bait and tackle shop. However, this permit only applies to species such as shiners, minnows, dace, chubs and suckers, not gamefish.

Since there has been a recent uptick in the number of people inquiring about hobbiest aquarium permits, I will be sure to bring it up at our next policy team meeting. Another option would be for you to attend one of our public hearings, or submit a rule proposal to your local state senator or assemblyperson. Information and guidelines regarding rule proposals can be found here.

Hopefully this information helps. If there are any other questions, please dont hesitate to reach out.

Best Regards,

We are committed to service excellence.
Visit our survey at http://dnr.wi.gov/customersurveyto evaluate how I did.

Joe Bevington
Permits Coordinator Bureau of Fisheries Management
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
101 South Webster St. Madison, WI 53707
Phone: (608) 264-9257
Fax: (608) 266-2244
Email: Joseph.Bevington@wisconsin.gov

Hey all,

Just wanted to Keep you updated as to the progress of my conversation with Joe. I contacted him again because I wanted a little more clarification. Again he was very helpful. I am planning on attending a hearing as well as writing to a assembly person, but it appears to be a very time consuming process. Also, I just wanted to share some links that Joe gave me, I didn't realize they didn't copy when I copied the messages from my email. Hope this all helps.

 

https://dnr.wi.gov/n...posedRules.html

https://dnr.wi.gov/a...inghearing.html

https://maps.legis.w...=&lon=&address=

 

Hey Joe,

 

I don’t want it to seem like I’m harassing you, but I’m new at this. It is kind of a daunting task, very time consuming and all so official.

 

So I looked into contacting your legislator, I feel pretty confident with the information that I found there. I used the map locator to find my local representative, Gary Hebl. That sounds like the only action that I need to take, correct me if I’m wrong. It is pretty clear as to what they ask for as far as what I’m proposing when I’m contacting my legislator. I may just do that.

 

If I wanted to attend a public hearing though, I’m just wondering how I would do that? The next one that I see is in Madison on 7/17, all the hearings look really specific. Is there a period of time open for public discussion on new topics or something of that nature? Public hearing concerning the proposed revision of Wisconsin's Infrastructure State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS).

 

I’ve also shared some of this information with some of my fellow hobbyists, that is how I got your contact info in the first place. There is a group called NANFA (North American Native Fishes Association) and I’ve seen some interest on Madison Area Aquatic Hobbyists (MAAH) as well. I’m hoping that some of them may participate as well, but I’m new to both groups. I try to be proactive about things otherwise I find that people just sit around complaining about things or discussing what should be done and nothing actually gets done.

 

If you could share thoughts as to how I should proceed, that would be great.

 

Brent- don’t worry about it, I am here to help! We are starting to get outside my area of expertise, but I’ll do my best to provide you with other resources that will be more helpful than myself.

 

The best time and place for this kind of discussion would be at one of the annual Conservation Congress Spring Hearing meetings during the first two weeks of April. The public meetings, held in all 72 counties, allow citizens to comment and provide input to the Department of Natural Resources, Natural Resources Board and the Conservation Congress on proposed changes relating to fish and wildlife management in Wisconsin. Citizens also have the opportunity to submit resolutions for changes they would like to see in the future. More information can be found here. This link also provides guidance on how to submit a resolution as well as a template for a resolution proposal (see; For Your Information at the bottom of the page). This is an excellent resource that you will find very helpful.

 

As you are aware, like anything involving politics, these things take time and the appropriate legal avenues must be followed in order to institute a change in law. That said, it seems like you are on the right path and asking all the right questions.

 

We are committed to service excellence.

Visit our survey at http://dnr.wi.gov/customersurvey to evaluate how I did.

 

Joe Bevington

Phone: (608) 264-9257

Joseph.Bevington@wisconsin.gov


Edited by Bsfishes, 11 July 2018 - 08:07 AM.


#14 Matt DeLaVega

Matt DeLaVega
  • Forum Staff
  • Ohio

Posted 13 July 2018 - 06:45 PM

As Michael said, very well done. Your contact sounds sounds like one of the good guys.


The member formerly known as Skipjack


#15 olaf

olaf
  • NANFA Member

Posted 21 July 2018 - 10:01 AM

I believe WI has a Scientific Collector permit. I've been meaning to try to get one for years but have never investigated the process. It might be useful to know what its rules and procedures are, so that as you go forward you can use it as a model and cite it as a precedent. 

 

It occurs to me that one selling point of a hobbyist collecting permit would be monitoring for invasive species and diseases (like VHS), with collectors reporting suspicious finds to the state.

It could also help with monitoring species that are rare or about which little is known. There is, as an example, this site for reporting rare organisms: http://wiatri.net/nhi/ The state is currently asking for help from citizens to find mussels. See this recent article: https://dnr.wi.gov/n...ly/?id=648#art2 and http://wiatri.net/inventory/mussels/

 

Keep up the good work--you're doing something important and needed. Let's try to coordinate people to go to those meetings next spring and to contact state legislators. And remember to keep notes on the process. When it's done--whether successful or not--you can write an article for AC. What you learn may be helpful to members in other states trying to do similar things.


Redhorse ID downloads and more: http://moxostoma.com

#16 Matt DeLaVega

Matt DeLaVega
  • Forum Staff
  • Ohio

Posted 21 July 2018 - 11:39 AM

I believe WI has a Scientific Collector permit. I've been meaning to try to get one for years but have never investigated the process. It might be useful to know what its rules and procedures are, so that as you go forward you can use it as a model and cite it as a precedent. 

 

It occurs to me that one selling point of a hobbyist collecting permit would be monitoring for invasive species and diseases (like VHS), with collectors reporting suspicious finds to the state.

It could also help with monitoring species that are rare or about which little is known. There is, as an example, this site for reporting rare organisms: http://wiatri.net/nhi/ The state is currently asking for help from citizens to find mussels. See this recent article: https://dnr.wi.gov/n...ly/?id=648#art2 and http://wiatri.net/inventory/mussels/

 

Keep up the good work--you're doing something important and needed. Let's try to coordinate people to go to those meetings next spring and to contact state legislators. And remember to keep notes on the process. When it's done--whether successful or not--you can write an article for AC. What you learn may be helpful to members in other states trying to do similar things.

Some states also have educational collectors permits. Similar, but without as much red tape, and a bit easier to qualify for. If Wisconsin doesn't offer one, permits from other states could also serve as a model.


The member formerly known as Skipjack




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