Lakes across Turtle Mountain reservation restocked with walleye

BELCOURT, N.D. (KMOT) - The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa recently restocked the walleye population in several area lakes.

This effort takes a village, and it begins with testing water quality, lake levels, oxygen and more.

The sampling of the water takes a couple of days through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

They want to avoid overstocking and other mistakes, so the testing is done carefully.

The tribe’s natural resources team casts out nets every year to determine the growth of the current population and what is needed.

The Fish and Wildlife Service worked in cooperation with North Dakota Game & Fish to obtain walleye from the National Fish Hatchery in Garrison.

The tribe’s Natural Resources Director Jeff Desjarlais Jr. said that although hunting is important, fishing is their number one resource.

“The number one sport in America is fishing so we need restocking at a rapid pace. We’re getting people not only locally but worldwide,” said Desjarlais.

He mentioned several times that without the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, they couldn’t restock efficiently.

“We’re trying to establish better partnerships throughout North Dakota and part of my job is, of course, to work with all the tribes in North Dakota,” said Jerry Reinisch, tribal liaison for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Nearly 90,000 fish were distributed between Belcourt, Jarvis, Gordon, Crow and Martin lakes.