ST PAUL, Minn. — Most of the walleye Minnesotans fish begin their lives at the DNR's fish hatchery in St. Paul, and it's badly in need of an update.
That was the key takeaway when Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan visited the state's flagship hatchery near Pig's Eye Lake Monday. The event was to call attention to the governor's proposed outdoors and natural resources budget, which is now in the hands of lawmakers.
Walz wants to spend part of the one-time surplus dollars on DNR construction projects, but also raise fishing and boating license fees to provide long-term stability for the agency.
"It’s time. It’s this generation’s time to invest in our 15 hatcheries, to invest in the people who are the experts to bring them here," Walz told reporters after touring the hatchery.
The DNR's Genevieve Furtner, who manages the St. Paul Hatchery, showed the governor cylinders where hundreds of thousands of walleye eggs are waiting to hatch into fingerlings that will be used to stock lakes throughout the state.
"I will get 25 to 30 million eggs that roll through here, and I'm not the only one that gets eggs," Furtner explained.
"We're processing hundreds of millions of eggs every year within our DNR system."
The facility also breeds tiger muskies using adult male northern pike and female muskies. But it's clear the facility needs to be brought up to modern standards.
Furtner said the newest piece of equipment dates to 1989.
"We have an opportunity to really make some nice world-class hatcheries in our state system. People deserve that," Furtner explained.
"We can be so much more effective with our time and we can turn our action toward raising fish and managing instead of trying to hold up broken facilities, which we do spend a lot of our time doing."
Among those on the tour was Dave Osborne of the outdoors advocacy group MN-Fish, which supports the investments in the DNR system.
"This hatchery is 129 years old, no kidding. And it looks like it's 129 years old," Osborne quipped.
"If you really want to take the state of Minnesota and say that fishing is the centerpiece in this state, and take it seriously, we need to upgrade."
The House and Senate are taking different approaches on the funding puzzle for the DNR.
The House version of the natural resources bill includes the license fee increases, while the Senate version doesn't. But the Senate version has more one-time surplus money set aside for it.
DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen told reporters that her agency needs a long-term solution, to help people get the most out of their outdoor recreational assets
"To support these hatcheries, $60 million, as well as to support the places where Minnesotans fish, our boat ramps, our fishing piers, our shore fishing opportunities. And additional dollars to support the people, our fishery staff to run these facilities."