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Fillmore County adopts resolution opposing DNR proposal to expand trout stream designations
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Summary
The Fillmore County Board unanimously approved Resolution 2026-008 opposing the Minnesota DNRproposal to add 62.85 miles of trout stream; local residents said the streams lack trout and that the DNRprovided insufficient notice.
Fillmore County commissioners unanimously adopted Resolution 2026-008 on March 3, 2026, opposing the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' proposal to expand trout stream designations by 62.85 miles upriver from existing buffers.
During the county's citizens' input period, several rural Preston residents told the board they oppose the DNR proposal. "There are no trout in the stream," said Doug Ristau, describing 62 years without observing fish and noting the stream freezes in winter. Brady Ristau said residents received limited communication from the DNR about the proposed designation and had little time to submit mail-in comments. Bill McBride said the streams under consideration "do not have enough flowing water" to qualify as trout habitat.
The board's resolution, moved by Commissioner Duane Bakke and seconded by Commissioner Mitch Lentz, expresses the county's opposition to the expansion as described in the proposed designation. The motion carried unanimously.
County staff and the minutes do not record direct comment from DNR staff at the hearing. The resolution formally registers the board's objection to the acreage and mileage specified in the DNR proposal; the minutes do not specify subsequent procedural steps or whether the county will submit a formal comment packet to the DNR beyond adoption of the resolution.
What happens next: the resolution places the county on record opposing the DNR's proposed expansion; any formal challenge or further proceedings by the DNR are not recorded in the minutes.