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Tribal Coordination

A map showing treaty boundary areas across Michigan
Trap net marker

Great Lakes co-management

The state shares management authority with tribes in many areas of Michigan's Great Lakes. Both formal and informal agreements govern many aspects of fisheries management and enforcement of regulations.

Learn more and view the Great Lakes Decree.

DNR employee holding a northern pike

Inland co-management

The state also shares management authority with many tribes on inland waters. Shared management activities include conducting surveys, crafting regulations, stocking fish, improving habitat and ensuring compliance.

Learn more and view the Inland Consent Decree.

  • A whitefish lays on a wood exam table

    Great Lakes: Whitefish monitoring study

    We work cooperatively with tribes to monitor lake whitefish populations and commercial fisheries in many areas of Michigan’s Great Lakes.

  • A large lake trout being held up by a person in a boat on the lake

    Great Lakes: Lake trout harvest limits

    Lake trout populations are managed to promote long term sustainability of the fisheries and to support the overall stability of the Great Lakes ecology.

  • A research biologist studies a walleye

    Inland lakes: Walleye monitoring study

    We are conducting long-term monitoring - over the next 20 years - on a select set of inland lakes in the 1836 Treaty territory.

  • A sturgeon being examined with gloved hands

    Inland lakes: Lake sturgeon monitoring

    Surveys on inland lakes help assess lake sturgeon populations and provide data important to management planning.