United States Coast Guard Merchant Mariners Licenses

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Licensing hammer to fall more gently
DENNIS ANDERSON, Star Tribune

Most Minnesota fishing guides probably will get a break from the U.S. Coast Guard this summer, and will not have to be licensed -- even though some guides were dry-docked by the same federal agency last year.

An announcement is expected this month that inland Minnesota fishing guides and others who carry only a few passengers for hire on most federally "navigable" waters in the state will be given a licensing requirement postponement, Coast Guard Commander Mark Cunningham said Tuesday from St. Louis.

"I think you'll see a deadline to apply for a license, and a period of time to get a license,'' Cunningham said. "But I think you'll also see a generous grace period.''

Fishing guides throughout the state have worried since last summer when the St. Paul Coast Guard office began enforcing complex licensing requirements on Mississippi and St. Croix river guides, forcing some off the water in July.

The Coast Guard's "6-Pack'' license -- required of guides who carry six or fewer passengers for hire in relatively small boats -- has been on the books for decades, but hasn't been enforced on most inland waters nationwide.

Passage of a rigorous navigation and marine safety test is required to gain a license, as is certification in CPR. Drug and health screenings also must be passed.

Noted St. Croix and Mississippi river guides Dick (Griz) Grzywinski and Josh Stevenson of the Twin Cities were among those who lost about two months' worth of clients last summer when the Coast Guard suddenly began enforcing the 6-Pack requirement.

An uproar, and confusion, followed. U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of the powerful House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which oversees the Coast Guard, said guides should have been given notice that enforcement would begin.

Fueling the latter has been the Coast Guard's list of "navigable'' Minnesota waters -- the lakes and rivers on which it has primary authority.

The Mississippi River and much of the St. Croix River are considered navigable by the Coast Guard, as are Lake of the Woods and most of the Boundary Waters, as well as popular inland fishing destinations such as Lake Winnibigoshish and Leech Lake. Lake Superior is also navigable.

But what about Mille Lacs, arguably the state's most heavily fished lake?

One Coast Guard list circulated weeks ago declared the big lake to be navigable. That worried not only guides but resort owners, many of whom believed neither they nor their employees could be in compliance by this summer.

But a more recent Coast Guard list excluded Mille Lacs, and Cunningham said Thursday it appears, by the Coast Guard's definition, that the lake is not navigable.

"The Army Corps of Engineers considers it navigable for its purposes, but from what I can tell, we don't,'' Cunningham said.

Further complicating the licensing issue is that Minnesota is included in two Coast Guard "districts,'' the 8th, which generally covers the lower half of the state, and the 9th, which includes northern Minnesota and Lake Superior.

The 8th district in Minnesota is governed out of St. Paul, the 9th out of Duluth.

"Legally, it's possible to enforce the same regulation differently in different districts, but that's not acceptable in this case, in Minnesota,'' Cunningham said. "Enforcement has to be consistent throughout the state, and it has to be smart. That's what everyone wants.''

Regarding the Coast Guard's licensing conflict, Cunningham also said:

• A movement is afoot in Congress to change the requirement that small-boat guides need a TWIC (Transportation Worker Identification Credential) card. This is a basically an anti-terrorism requirement considered by many to be overkill for small boat operators.

• Canoe guides in the Boundary Waters likely will not need 6-Pack licenses, provided the guides don't use outboard motors or trolling motors (as some guides who pilot square-stern canoes do.) Use of these motors would make licenses a requirement.

Dennis Anderson •

danderson@startribune.com