Manoomin (wild rice) harvest regulations and information.
In addition to general harvest regulations, the following provisions apply to manoomin harvesting in the 1837 and 1842 Ceded Territories in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
This page does not detail harvest regulations in their entirety. Additionally, your Tribe may have more restrictive regulations. Check with your Tribe for their full code of regulations.
Tribal wild rice harvest permits are required for off-reservation wild rice harvest in Wisconsin. The dates that a regulated lake is open for harvesting will be posted at the access points to the lake.
Permits: You must carry your permit and your tribal ID with you when ricing off-reservation. Contact your tribal conservation department or GLIFWC to obtain an off-reservation ricing permit.
Ricing Sticks: You must use smooth, rounded, cedar rods or sticks, no longer than 38 inches in length to harvest wild rice (note: "binding" the rice stalks is not permitted).
Boats: Boats can be no longer than 17 feet; and no wider than 38 inches. The gunwales of the boat cannot be modified to capture rice outside of the boat. Boats can only be propelled with a push pole or canoe paddle.
Hours: Wild rice can only be harvested between the hours of 10:00 am and sunset on all public rice waters.
Date-Regulated Lakes: No ricing is allowed on off-reservation date-regulated lakes, except for the days they have been named open by the tribal ricing authority (listed on the GLIFWC website).
Tribal wild rice harvest permits are required for off-reservation wild rice harvest in Minnesota.
Permits: You must carry your permit and your tribal ID with you when ricing off-reservation. Contact your tribal conservation department or GLIFWC to obtain an off-reservation ricing permit.
Ricing Sticks: You must use smooth, rounded, cedar rods or sticks, no longer than 32 inches in length to harvest wild rice.
Boats: Boats can be no longer than 18 feet; and no wider than 38 inches. The gunwales of the boat cannot be modified to capture rice outside of the boat. Boats can only be propelled with a push pole or canoe paddle.
Hours: Wild rice can only be harvested between the hours of 9:00 am and sunset on all public waters.
Open Season: No member shall harvest wild rice in any body of water, except during the time(s) that such body of water is posted as open by the Mille Lacs Band Wild Rice Authority. Posting a body of water as open will be done on the shores of, and at places of access to, the wild rice waters.