Section 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 3 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 official state newspaper and shall remove the notices posted in the vicinity of the fish refuge.Wis. Admin. Code Department of Natural Resources NR 26.03
Adopted by, CR 24-002: cr. Register July 2024 No. 823, eff. 8-1-24; correction in (3) made under s. 35.17, Stats., Register July 29 No. 823, eff. 8/1/2024