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Those are some of the potential changes for the upper Mississippi River as the federal government firms up a sweeping, $216 million-plus regulatory package. The plan could transform river life for the next decade and a half by limiting waterfowl hunting, camping and boating.
Federal officials say the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's plan is designed to reduce human stress on the fragile river environment and improve wild habitats.
"What we're striving for is balance. We want people to be able to use the refuge and enjoy the critters," said Jim Nissen, manager of Fish and Wildlife's district in La Crosse, Wis., which lies on the Mississippi.
But outdoors lovers are livid over changes to their traditional river hobbies. They say the agency is rushing the plan.
"This is big stuff. It really gouges a lot of folks," said Ron Nicklaus, 56, of Genoa, Wis., an avid duck hunter who camps every summer on the Mississippi. "It (the Mississippi) doesn't belong to the Fish and Wildlife Service. It belongs to the folks."
The 600-page document would lay out new regulations through the year 2020 for about 240,000 acres of Mississippi floodplain designated as a national wildlife refuge.
The refuge stretches about 260 miles from southern Minnesota to northern Illinois. It's home to hundreds of species of plants, fish and birds, including bald eagles. More than 3 million people visit the refuge annually, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.
The federal Wildlife Refuge Improvement Act of 1997 requires refuges be managed according to their mission to restore fish, wildlife and plants. The act calls for every national refuge to have a plan by 2012, Nissen said.
Public hearings have been scheduled in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois. Agency staff will tweak the document after the public comment period ends in August, and Fish and Wildlife regional director Robyn Thorson then will sign off on it, putting it into effect.
Among the agency's recommendations:
—Limit overnight camping to main channel islands and shorelines. Anyone with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent or higher would be banned from camping, and district managers would be allowed to declare beaches alcohol-free.
—Explore beach user fees, but the plan doesn't set any.
—Set up 16 areas encompassing nearly 14,500 mostly backwater acres where boaters could use nothing more powerful than electric motors and must obey a 5-mph speed limit.
—Increase the number of no-hunting zones from seven to 13, encompassing 5,322 acres. The number of zones where waterfowl hunting is banned would go from 15 to 21 — 790 acres larger than the current areas — in 2006. Hunters would be limited to 25 shells. Currently there are no limits on how much ammunition they can carry.
—New waterfowl sanctuaries would be added near McGregor, Iowa, Winona, Minn., and Savanna, Ill.
Nissen said refuge officials have struggled with huge parties and underage drinking on the river, particularly in the Winona area, and people have complained they can't get any peace and quiet, even in the backwaters.
"If you're fishing in a small flat and you've got Jet Skis buzzing all around you, so much for the solitude," Nissen said.
The hunting restrictions were added to minimize conflict between people using the river for different purposes, improve safety, help waterfowl find more safe breeding areas and fill gaps between current closed areas, according to the plan.
The ammunition limit would discourage "skybusting," the practice of shooting excessively at out-of-range birds, the plan said. Skybusting can result in crippled ducks that can't be retrieved, it said.
Bill Howe, 82, of Prairie du Chien, Wis., grew up on the Mississippi. He scoffed at the plan.
District managers shouldn't have the power to ban alcohol from beaches, he said. That's the purview of state and local governments, he said. He wondered how the agency would enforce such restrictions.
"Where do you go if you have a can of beer on your boat and you have problems and go to a beach to fix it?" Howe asked. "It isn't a document that considers people."
U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., a duck hunter with a house on the Mississippi, said he couldn't support a plan that restricts so much river access. Enforcement would be nearly impossible, he said.
"That's the problem with the plan. You can't enforce it unless you hire 100 or 200 agents," Kind said.
He said he's still meeting with Fish and Wildlife personnel, but he might fight to withhold funding if the plan isn't revised.
The Wisconsin Conservation Congress, a statewide group of sportsmen, plans to write a letter to Fish and Wildlife asking the agency to extend the public comment period to six months.
Proposed Mississippi River Refuge regulations
HUNTING AND FISHING
--Add six new no-hunting zones, bringing the number of no-hunting zones to 13.
--Increase number of areas closed to waterfowl hunting from 15 to 21.
--Add new waterfowl sanctuaries near McGregor, Iowa, and Savanna, Ill.
--All closed areas except Lake Onalaska would be closed to on-the-water fishing and motorized watercraft from Oct. 1 to the end of the respective state's duck season.
--Starting in 2006, limit each hunter to 25 shotshells during waterfowl season. Hunters must maintain 100 yards between each other.
--Establish a managed waterfowl hunting area on Lake Onalaska. The number of hunters would be limited through a random drawing and permits.
--Phase out the use of permanent hunting blinds around the Savanna, Ill., area.
--Issue special permits for fishing tournaments.
RECREATION
--Starting in 2007, camping and overnight mooring would be limited to islands and shorelines that border the main channel.
--All campers must have an approved marine onboard toilet or a human waste disposal system for each person.
--Entering or staying in the refuge while under the influence of alcohol, defined as a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent, would be prohibited.
--The refuge manager or district managers may restrict beaches as no-alcohol or day-only.
--Explore user fees for beachgoers.
--Starting in spring 2006, establish 16 electric motor-only areas on the refuge, encompassing 14,498 acres. A 5 mph speed limit would be in effect in those areas.
--Add 10 new no-wake zones in 2006, bringing the total to 12.
--Starting in 2007, all dogs must be on a leash between March and June. The rest of the year, dogs can be free only when they're at least 100 yards from roads, trails, rest areas and boat landings, and within sight and earshot of their handlers. Dogs hunting or retrieving are exempt from the regulations.
LANSCAPE AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
--Resurvey and post the refuge boundary by 2020.
--Acquire 1,000 acres of land per year to complete the refuge's 1987 master plan.
--Protect bluffs through easements or fee-title acquisitions.
--Nominate the refuge as a Wetland of International Importance.
--Increase control of invasive species. Achieve a 10 percent reduction in acres affected by 2010.
--Complete drawdowns on all refuge pools during the growing season by 2020. Lowering water levels leads to more vegetation, and, in turn, more food and cover for fish and wildlife.
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
River Refuge Public Hearings
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service set up public hearings and workshops on regulatory changes for the upper Mississippi River. All meetings are from 5:30 to 9 p.m.:
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Ronald Warren wrote on Apr 4, 2007 7:40 PM: