Minnesota DNR To Ice Fishermen: “Stop Trashing Minnesota Lakes”

Minnesota DNR is finding more and more ice fishermen are leaving litter on lakes across the state and it's piling up.

From cigarette butts to used paper plates and other garbage. The Duluth News-Tribune is reporting that it's happening more and more especially when most people have to take their fishing houses off of the lake.

Patch is reporting that the Minnesota DNR is finding sewage and human waste at some sites. They are saying people have enough time to dispose of it in the woods or along the lakes but not enough time to take it to a proper dump area. Ewww!!

It started out with some of the DNR saying which lakes were the worst, but now they all are looking bad, and it's all kinds of garbage that is being found. Fox 9 is reporting that most of the garbage is found after people take their fish houses off the lake. People take the house but leave litter or huge garbage bags full of garbage behind.

What happens then is the garbage stays behind and then either sinks in the lake or becomes part of the lake and washes up later in the Summer. In some cases, plastic connectors from 6 packs get tangled in some of the wildlife.

If you are found littering on the lake or around the lake, KARE 11 says the DNR has ways of finding you. If they do, it's hefty. Bring Me The News says it's a $1000 fine for leaving garbage behind.

Keep in mind, you don't have to find a garbage receptacle while you are on the lake. Many people put a bag or two outside the fish house while they are there and then haul it home after the weekend. It's the people that can't put it where it belongs when they leave the lake.

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It's not limited to garbage or litter either KARE 11 says once a fish house gets run down, some people are leaving it on the ice. People have left furniture, houses, containers, used plates and cups, cans and bottles, and other plastic containers and food. People sometimes leave it right on the ice, some are hiding it in the surrounding forests.

The DNR says it used to be a small problem but now it's become a big one. They are hauling off truckloads of garbage now and a lot of it shows up later in the water when families are enjoying campgrounds and public swimming areas.