Citizens can apply to serve on Lake Vermilion Fisheries Input Group

Citizens interested in discussing Lake Vermilion fish and habitat can nominate themselves as volunteers on a newly forming Lake Vermilion Fisheries Input Group. Applications must be completed by Sunday, Jan. 24, and are available on the Lake Vermilion page.

“We will use the input from the group as we update the Lake Vermilion Fisheries Management Plan,” said Edie Evarts, Tower area fisheries supervisor for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. “We reserved some seats to be filled by volunteers who apply though the selfnomination process, and some members will be invited from groups interested in Lake Vermilion issues.”

Group members will meet six or seven times between March and October to cover topics including management of walleye, northern pike, muskie and bass; double-crested cormorant control; the Pike River walleye hatchery; habitat, water quality and aquatic invasive species.

“The new input group will be part of a more public and structured process than we have used in the past on Lake Vermilion,” Evarts said. “We expect to tap into group members’ valuable insight on the wide range of issues and interests on the lake.”

Lake Vermilion is a destination walleye lake but also offers great opportunities to catch other fish. Maintaining a healthy fishery and preserving lake habitat is important to the local communities of Tower, Cook and Bois Forte as well as statewide.

Invitations to participate on the input group will be extended to local lake groups, business groups, statewide fish species groups, and tribal interests, along with volunteers chosen from the application process.

For more information on the Lake Vermilion Fisheries Input Group and the application process or call the DNR Tower area fisheries office at 218-753-2580.