GROSS….What is wrong with people!!

Red Lake Sewage

Im not surprised.
It’s a sad world we live in where people won’t be responsible for their own waste

Another situation where more law enforcement is needed. Steep fines and loss of privileges would help keep these disgusting people honest.

You mean to say it doesn’t just evaporate?

Doesnt surprise me at all. Late ice on LOW we would see garbage bags all over frozen into the ice with crap in it.

I’ll probably get hammered for saying it, but a fair amount of the trash and Waste problems seemed to start when wheeled fish houses started showing up on lakes. I’m not saying all wheeled house owners are pigs or responsible. I think the wheeled houses have brought a fair amount of people who are not die hard sportsmen to the activity of ice fishing. When it was just permanent fish houses, most houses stayed in one location for a long or longer period of time and they would not heave a mess or waste laying around to be traced back to them. Now that lots of wheeled houses are hooking up and leaving the lake after their visit its just easier for them to dump waste or trash and leave and not have it get traced back to them. Then again it could just be that humans are just much bigger pigs these days as well.

fishthumper wrote:

Then again it could just be that humans are just much bigger pigs these days as well.

This is most of it, but I think the DNR/Resorts could do something to ease this. I mean people dont really want to haul $hit around for obvious reasons, but how do they dispose of it? Perhaps have dumpsters, etc specifically for this purpose at access points.

grubson wrote:

Another situation where more law enforcement is needed. Steep fines and loss of privileges would help keep these disgusting people honest.

Sounds like they can’t do anything UNTIL they personally witness it being dumped…unless you park an officer outside each large perm shack all weekend you’ll never catch them in the act…

This comes down to personal responsibility, and that seems to have gone out the door to a higher degree the past few years… sad

CaptainMusky wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>fishthumper wrote:</div>
Then again it could just be that humans are just much bigger pigs these days as well.

This is most of it, but I think the DNR/Resorts could do something to ease this. I mean people dont really want to haul $hit around for obvious reasons, but how do they dispose of it? Perhaps have dumpsters, etc specifically for this purpose at access points.

If you are owning a wheelhouse it’s your responsibility to get rid of your waste ethically. It shouldn’t be the resort’s or DNR’s issue to solve. You made the waste, you get rid of it. Resorts could probably make some money by installing more waste dumping stations and charging substantially to use it, but adding any improvements to property today is absurdly expensive and the profit may be tough to catch.

The demand for access to a handful of lakes in MN is absurdly high. I think resorts could squeeze more money out of this demand which could also cover costs to manage some waste. The same guy with a $30k fish house who bit***s about access fees isn’t going anywhere else even if the accesses cost double what they do now. They want their URL or LOTW comparatively easy fishing, as the purchase of these inflated houses and driving many hours with them are proof.

CaptainMusky wrote:

Perhaps have dumpsters, etc specifically for this purpose at access points.

These dumpsters will then fill up with couches, TVs and garbage from people who don’t pay for garbage services at their house. Also, who pays to dump them?
DT

JoeMX1825 wrote:

Sounds like they can’t do anything UNTIL they personally witness it being dumped

That statement in the article was not necessarily true. A citation could be written however the person who witnessed the dumping would have to testify in court.
DT

buckybadger wrote:

I wish resorts would jack up their access fees a bit more and provide giant roll offs, but that is their decision to make.

They are making a fortune of their ice roads. It was reported that Adrians made well over a million dollars off their ice road one winter. If they raised the fee I think it would only deter people from using them which wouldnt necessarily be a bad thing either. Charge $200 for it. They arent making any other money of those wheelhouse guys who just camp out on the lake the whole time and bring all the food/beverages with them.

Most RV dump stations are closed in the winter. The best way to deal with the issue would be to provide a dump station. It would be difficult to provide rinse water in the winter.
I’m not sure how they even can use the waste/water system in the cold. The tanks are usually enclosed, against an outside wall, and in a room that doesn’t direct access to the main heat source. My kid got a wheel house this fall. His is a Yetti RV edition. His house is winterized. I believe the manual said to use it in the cold that you should add RV antifreeze to the waste tank to lower the freeze point. Still no place to dump it.

fishthumper wrote:

I’ll probably get hammered for saying it, but a fair amount of the trash and Waste problems seemed to start when wheeled fish houses started showing up on lakes. I’m not saying all wheeled house owners are pigs or responsible. I think the wheeled houses have brought a fair amount of people who are not die hard sportsmen to the activity of ice fishing. When it was just permanent fish houses, most houses stayed in one location for a long or longer period of time and they would not heave a mess or waste laying around to be traced back to them. Now that lots of wheeled houses are hooking up and leaving the lake after their visit its just easier for them to dump waste or trash and leave and not have it get traced back to them. Then again it could just be that humans are just much bigger pigs these days as well.

This discussion has come up before on here. Honestly, this really does not surprise me. If you are out there for a longer period of time, you are going to generate more trash, waste, etc. Its that simple. Ice anglers have always been a noticeable, obvious source of leaving stuff behind. It has also been occurring more often at campsites in the BWCA too though. As a result, the forestry service just announced they are cutting the amount of permits this year and doubling enforcement officers.

As the article stated, the enforcement officers have to actually catch the individual that is responsible in the act of doing it too. No easy way to solve this problem.

I was raised to always clean up after myself. Leave the property or area you just used in as good of shape as it was when you arrived. Not a difficult concept.

CaptainMusky wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>buckybadger wrote:</div>
I wish resorts would jack up their access fees a bit more and provide giant roll offs, but that is their decision to make.

They are making a fortune of their ice roads. It was reported that Adrians made well over a million dollars off their ice road one winter. If they raised the fee I think it would only deter people from using them which wouldnt necessarily be a bad thing either. Charge $200 for it. They arent making any other money of those wheelhouse guys who just camp out on the lake the whole time and bring all the food/beverages with them.

Capitalism is a beautiful thing…until it isn’t. Adrian’s could probably make 1.5 million by just upping their access fees along with every other resort. LOTW, URL, and maybe Mille Lacs are the only game in town for many wheelhouse owners. The accesses are a gold mine that they’ve barely tapped. Jack the fees up to match the crazy demand, and use a bit of that cash to manage more waste. If people don’t like it, take your fancy wheelhouse and park it on a free metro lake chasing 6″ crappies.

I have a place on Mille Lacs and will often snowmobile random routes across the lake. On Sunday afternoons as the wheelhouses pull out it is not at all uncommon to see piles of feces left near where the houses were. This is a new phenomenon in the last 3-4 years and unfortunately I see more and more of it.

I know a lot of people with wheel houses, none of them would even consider leaving trash on the lake or anywhere else. It has everything to do with a persons morals. We even make sure every cig butt is picked up.

Resorts don’t need to charge more for access. As already mentioned they’re making a killing already.
Agate Bay resort on mille lacs charged me $30 for less than 24hrs on their ice road a couple weeks ago. I tried to talk some sense into the greedy a-hole running the place but instead he lost mine and my friends business from now on. I was there on 2 calander days (7pm Friday to 2pm Saturday) so I paid for 2 days….. Im fine with paying for access but it’s getting ridiculous.
They should treat those RV wheel houses like they do a skid house at the end of the season. Mark their location and license number and return after they’re gone, if they’re is a mess they have a license number to send a very large fine to. Of course this would require substantially more law enforcement on the big lakes.

John Rasmussen wrote:

I know a lot of people with wheel houses, none of them would even consider leaving trash on the lake or anywhere else. It has everything to do with a persons morals. We even make sure every cig butt.

Thanks John. I didn’t mean to paint a broad brush with everyone on my post. Keep up the good work. Maybe if enough of us set a good example, others will notice.

No offence taken. People are probably right that some of this is new people that boomed into the wheel house craze and maybe there the same crowd that tosses trash in the ditch. I was raised better.

Well, personally I would like to see anyone who has an access to the lake and charges for it add $5-$10 for dumpster usage upon leaving. On Red there is no place to get rid of this trash except to bring it home with you, which is fine, but I would pay to get rid of it once on shore. When fishing LOTW at Springsteel Island Resort, they have 2 large dumpsters specifically for this purpose and I always leave a tip for the owner thanking her for the convenience. It seems like a small price to pay, especially when you are making money from it. And what about people who bring their dogs, I doubt very seriously they pick it up.

The only way to catch them is go get them right after they leave their site by 20’. Timing would be hard. An ice cream bucket works well. It seals the smells and you can toss it all when you have a chance.

John Rasmussen wrote:

I know a lot of people with wheel houses, none of them would even consider leaving trash on the lake or anywhere else. It has everything to do with a persons morals. We even make sure every cig butt is picked up.

This exactly.

The article states that the CO has received 4 sewage dumping complaints this month from RV shacks.

A lot of shacks have grey water tanks (sink water/shower), I’m hoping that’s what was dumped and it wasn’t really sewage (turds).

I’d argue that owners of RV shacks leave far less pisz and $hit on the lakes than guys in other houses that don’t have running water and storage tanks (non-RV, skid houses, portables, etc).

How many thousands of gallons of urine goes on the ice every weekend from non-RV shack owners? If there’s 10,000 fisherman that’s easily 5,000-10,000 gallons of urine A DAY….

How many turds are taken right on the ice or left in a trash bag on the ice?

When I’m on the ice I pick up EVERY piece of trash I see left by others (yes even bags of $hit).

Guys in portables are the worst and leave the most trash….not every guy running a portable (I fish in them a ton too)….but that group definitely has the most slobs.

This exactly.

The article states that the CO has received 4 sewage dumping complaints this month from RV shacks.

A lot of shacks have grey water tanks (sink water/shower), I’m hoping that’s what was dumped and it wasn’t really sewage (turds).

I’d argue that owners of RV shacks leave far less pisz and $hit on the lakes than guys in other houses that don’t have running water and storage tanks (non-RV, skid houses, portables, etc).

How many thousands of gallons of urine goes on the ice every weekend from non-RV shack owners? How many turds are taken right on the ice or left in a trash bag on the ice?
[/quote]

And it’s a race to the bottom to see who the worst offenders are.

I’m a lake property owner for 45 years and I can tell you first hand it’s not getting better out there.

Guys,
No sense in pointing the figure of wheel house portable what have you.
There are slobs all over the ice. In a lot of different shapes and forms.
Pick up after ourselves and if we see other leaving trash call them out on it.
All we can really do.

This topic comes up every year and pretty much the same discussion on who to blame.

if you are operating and maintaining an ice road, and making HUGE profits from doing so, i believe it is your duty to provide dumpsters and such to help reduce the trash on the ice. If there were no ice roads, there would be FAR less trash left on the ice.

open water fishing……how many of you keep your pee in a bucket and haul it back to shore??

Easy solution. Mandate all wheelhouse manufacturers not allow toilets that allow feces into holding tanks. Instead install self containing dry composting toilets like I installed in my Ice Castle. I can go almost a month with one to two people using. The feces and peat moss mixture composts into dirt. I sprinkle around my trees.

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ptc wrote:

I have a place on Mille Lacs and will often snowmobile random routes across the lake. On Sunday afternoons as the wheelhouses pull out it is not at all uncommon to see piles of feces left near where the houses were. This is a new phenomenon in the last 3-4 years and unfortunately I see more and more of it.

So up until the invention of wheelhouses people never pooped??

This “new phenomenon” needs a study done on it.

Everyone that owns a wheelhouse that I know poops in comfort in their shack.

I only use the water and tanks on multi-day trips.

When not using the water, I just line the toilet with a garbage bag and throw a scoop of kitty litter in it. It works great with a five gallon bucket too, especially with a bucket toilet seat.

The same thing can be done by every fisherman on the ice. There is no excuse to leave feces on the ice.

Toss the bags in the outside trash when you get home.

As for RV dump stations, everyone already has one at home. If you have a septic tank, dump it in there. If you have city sewer, pop a sanitary manhole lid and dump it in there (that’s what I do). It’s poop, not rocket surgery.

Cousin Eddie!!

MN Z wrote:

Cousin Eddie!!

Kinda but he did it into a storm sewer

Years ago when I had a permanent house on Mille Lacs I was there on a weekday and A DNR truck came by and took a photo of my door and fishouse license. I asked them why he said so if you leave anything on the ice they know who to ticket. This was in the early 1990’s. When name and address had to be on fish house

Mwal