Wisconsin Administrative Code
Department of Natural Resources
NR 1-99 - Fish, Game and Enforcement, Forestry and Recreation
Chapter NR 13 - Chippewa Treaty Rights Participants
Subchapter I - General Provisions
Chapter NR 13 is a direct result of the off-reservation treaty rights first recognized in Lac Courte Oreilles v. Voigt, 700 F. 2d 341 (7th Cir. 1983). This rule does not actually amend other state statutes. Rather, it represents the Department's interpretation of how these laws must be interpreted or limited in order to comply with the general limitations on state regulatory authority expressed in Lac Courte Oreilles v. State of Wisconsin, 668 F. Supp. 1233 (W.D. Wis. 1987) and the specific limitations expressed in the regulatory phase of the Voigt litigation. (See e.g., Lac Courte Oreilles v. State of Wisconsin, 707 F. Supp. 1034 (W.D. Wis. 1989).
1. It provides the federal court with the State's litigation position in the ongoing Chippewa off-reservation treaty rights litigation.
2. The rule provides the State with a set of regulations for those species on which the court has not yet ruled. The state has acknowledged that certain of the current state laws do not meet the aforementioned reasonableness standards for enforcement of Chippewa off-reservation treaty rights.
3. The rule provides a set of back-up regulations for those species on which the court has already ruled. In Lac Courte Oreilles v. State of Wisconsin, 668 F. Supp. 226 (W.D. Wis. 1988) the court accepted the Chippewa Off-Reservation Code as the primary set of regulations applicable to off-reservation treaty rights. However, it allowed for enforcement of state law should the Chippewa fail to enact or enforce their code. It is expected that a similar pattern will prevail for all species covered by ch. NR 13.
4. Should the federal court rule in future trials that the Chippewa Off-Reservation Code does not preempt state law, ch. NR 13 will serve as the primary set of regulations for Chippewa off-reservation treaty rights.
Note: This chapter contains a number of provisions for which modifications have been added to reflect limitations on the state's authority as a result of the litigation arising from Lac Courte Oreilles v. Voigt, 700 F. 2d 341 (7th Cir. 1983). The modifications are placed in this chapter rather than done as an actual change to the underlying statute or administrative code provision due to the applicability of the Voigt decision to only enrolled members of the Chippewa bands and the need for a single document summarizing all regulations dealing with off-reservation treaty rights.
