Department of Natural Resources policy bill unveiled, held over

The Department of Natural Resources has a wide-ranging mission that can be summarized as providing outdoor recreation opportunities by conserving, managing, and regulating the state’s natural resources for current and future generations.

So, who knows how best to do that? The department doing that important work, of course.

That’s the genesis of HF4261, department-recommended changes to state law.

The House Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee laid over the bill sponsored by Committee Co-Chair Rep. Josh Heintzeman (R-Nisswa) Tuesday after amending it twice. The provisions could end up in a larger committee bill.

[MORE: DNR summary of policy changes]

What’s in the bill?

The bill would make changes in licensing and registration requirements for many vehicles in the department’s jurisdiction, including snowmobiles, off-highway motorcycles and ATVs, and watercraft.

Many of the proposed changes would make it a misdemeanor to fraudulently register these.

“With advances in AI, we are seeing a significant increase in fraudulent DNR licenses, watercraft and recreational vehicle registrations,” Legislative Coordinator Barbara Keller said.

Altering hunting and fishing licenses or permits, or cross-country-ski passes and horse passes, would also be a misdemeanor, as would fraudulently obtaining them.

These anti-fraud provisions came from HF4192, Keller said.

Other policy provisions in the bill include:

• allowing a person to possess, import, purchase, sell, and transport invasive carp species such as bighead, grass, and silver carp, provided they are “eviscerated” by removing internal organs;
• adding black carp to the list of carp a person must report to the DNR within seven days of taking them;
• prohibiting outfitters from renting/leasing a motorboat to a person who has not taken the required short boater safety examination within the previous 180 days; and
• adding burbot to the list of fish that may be taken from Lake Superior by a licensed commercial fishing operator.