Suspicion and Synergy: Overcoming Federalism Tensions to Restore Lake Trout in Lake Superior

Lake trout restoration in Lake Superior is one of the world’s most successful fishery management initiatives.  This restoration occurred in a diffuse setting, with three states, one province, two intertribal agencies, two nations, and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission each playing an essential role in the long-term recovery of the keystone species.  Although the non-federal governments retain primary management authority over their fisheries, lake trout restoration and management—probably more than any other fishery issue on the lakes—depends on the intimate involvement of other orders of government, creating at once the possibility of federalism tensions and the opportunity to collaborate in program implementation.  This presentation describes the history of parochialism in Great Lakes fishery management, summarizes the unique challenges lake trout recovery and management presents to all agencies on Lake Superior, and discusses the mechanism the jurisdictions use—A Joint Strategic Plan for Management of Great Lakes Fisheries—to coordinate their actions.  This presentation asserts that non-federal agencies are inherently suspicious of federal intrusion into their authority and, as such, rely on the Joint Strategic Plan to both maintain a federalism balance and generate synergy in a proactive, multi-generational endeavor to ensure successful lake trout management in Lake Superior.