3.03.010 Findings

The Tribal Council finds that the lands now comprising the Bad River Reservation were traditional hunting and fishing grounds for the ancestors of the Tribe; that those lands were selected as a Reservation because of their wealth of fish, game and wild rice; that walleye have been a nutritional staple for members of the Tribe for generations beyond memory; that walleye continue to provide a substantial portion of the protein and other nutritional needs of the Tribe's members; that high unemployment and a cash-poor local economy indicate that walleye will remain critical as a food source for the Tribe's members; that pressure on the walleye population by non-member sport fishing reduces the availability of walleye as a food source for members; that the stocking activities of the Tribe's fish hatchery have contributed significantly over the last several years to the reservation walleye population; that non-member flaunting of tribal conservation laws have contributed to a decline in the reservation walleye population; and that effective regulation of both member and non-member taking of walleye is essential for the preservation of the species in numbers sufficient to supply the economic and nutritional needs of the Tribe's members.