Mille Lacs Advisory Panel Member Criticizes Group, Resigns

ST. PAUL (AP) - A key member of a group that advises Minnesota regulators on walleye fishing on Mille Lacs Lake has resigned.

Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Government Affairs Director Jamie Edwards says the Mille Lacs Fisheries Advisory Committee has "devolved into an anti-science, anti-treaty rights forum subsidized by state resources."

Edwards made the claim in a letter to state Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Landwehr. Edwards was the only tribal representative on the 17-member committee.

DNR fisheries chief Don Pereira called Edwards' resignation disappointing, but he rejected Edwards' claims. He said he hopes to replace him on the committee with another tribal representative.

Mille Lacs was once considered Minnesota's premiere walleye fishery, but the species has been on a long-term decline.