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Boreal Community Media

Once again, some inconsiderate ice anglers leave garbage on Minnesota's lakes

Apr 07, 2019 07:39AM ● By Editor
Photo:  MN DNR

By Shaymus McLaughlin of bringmethenews.com - April 3, 2019

Whoever writes the littering notices at the Minnesota DNR must feel like they're banging their head against some 2-foot-thick lake ice.

Just three months after the agency posted a notice asking ice anglers to please pick up their trash and not leave it on the lake, the DNR is having to do so again.

With fish houses out of the way and the snow melting, all the garbage inconsiderate people left behind is now coming into view, the agency said in a Facebook post Tuesday.

You can see some of the junk in the photos above. On its enforcement update page, the DNR says Conservation Officer Randy Posner is looking into "blocks of wood and garbage" left behind by anglers. 

"A reminder to everyone: Anything but an impression left on the ice is litter and will be investigated," the DNR added in its Facebook post. 

Littering is considered a misdemeanor, and anyone caught doing so can face a fine of up to $1,000.

The DNR has to put out warnings like this basically every year, if not twice a year. Here's a version Bring Me The News wrote four years ago about the problem. Yet it continues to happen.

Are these people being lazy? Forgetful? Are they intending to be destructive?

Trash - especially plastic - isn't great for the water, nor is it helpful to the fish these littering anglers spend days hoping to catch. It also can't be good for what is a huge industry in the state. As of 2011, fishing was estimated to generate $2.8 billion a year in spending in Minnesota. 

So if you're out ice fishing, take your garbage with you when you leave. And maybe one day the DNR won't have to post trash-filled ice photos to Facebook. 


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