Regulations governing the off-reservation treaty-rights fishing of the Bay Mills Indian Community and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians in Michigan were published in the Federal Register November 15, Interior Secretary Cecil D. Andrus said today
The Federal regulations were developed pursuant to a September 5 memorandum of understanding between the tribes and the Interior Department concerning the regulation of treaty Indian fishing in the Great Lakes and connecting waters.
Under this agreement the tribes were to develop one joint comprehensive set of regulations governing the fishing of their members. These regulations were to be developed in consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The Interior Department was then to review the joint tribal regulations to see that they met conservation needs and to publish them as Federal regulations if they did so.
Several suggestions made by the State of Michigan have been incorporated into the regulations, with the acquiescence of the tribes. The Secretary has also included in the regulations a closure of the Lower St. Mary's River to net fishing as necessary for conservation purposes. This provision was inserted, without the consent of the tribes, under the Secretary's authority to act to protect the fishery resource.
Because of the immediate need for regulatory protection of the resource, the regulations became effective upon publication as interim regulations. Comments on the regulations, which would be considered for future changes, should be sent within 60 days to the Department of the Interior, Associate Solicitor for Indian Affairs, 18th and C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20240.
