Remnants of ice fishing wash ashore in Minnesota

Published 8:50 am Thursday, May 5, 2011

ONAMIA, Minn. (AP) — What’s left of the ice fishing season has washed ashore and littered the banks of one of Minnesota’s premier lakes.

Wood blocks left behind after ice shanties are hauled away, empty beer cans and bottles litter a 4-mile stretch along the northeastern shore on Lake Mille Lacs, Minnesota’s second-largest inland lake north of the Twin Cities.

Local resident Art Howard says the trash makes him mad because the fishermen aren’t respecting the lake as a resource. Conservation officer Scott Fiztgerald says it’s the responsibility of the ice shack owner to remove any blocking under the shanty or any trash. Fitzgerald says he’s unaware of any state program that would help clean up the lakeshore.

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Howard is working on that task a little at a time. WCCO-TV reports he’s picked up two loads of trash and has hauled it away.