Have to love them lawmakers for all the “feel good” laws they create.
Yep, nothing stopping a slob from using a bucket all day and then dumping it on the ice on the way out.
The State and DNR could do a lot more in funding garbage bins at lake access year around.
-J.
Not sure if that is the point or not, But it should be. Write enough 100.00 tickets a day and you can pay for more enforcement.
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Lol now that’s funny
So just to be clear, p!ss outside on the ice, where it’s visible, is a ticket. Drill a hole outside, p!ss directly into the lake, where it’s no longer visible, A-OK? Seems a little questionable, but sure, why not?
So just to be clear, p!ss outside on the ice, where it’s visible, is a ticket. Drill a hole outside, p!ss directly into the lake, where it’s no longer visible, A-OK? Seems a little questionable, but sure, why not?
I really don’t think stopping peeing on the ice is the major focus of this Law. It may be somehow included in it, but I don’t see it being a conservations officers main focus on enforcement.
Oh, I agree, but I guarantee that it will be the most talked about portion of the change. If it was not meant to be a focus, it should have been spelled out as such, because now the narrative won’t be “Quit being slobs and leaving garbage and feces all over the ice” and will instead be “See how stupid the DNR is? They won’t even let you pee on the ice!”, which will just give the bad actors all the rationalization they need to ignore the law in its entirety.
I like many people dislike when the government has to try and control people by way of Laws. In a ideal world we would not need laws and everyone would do the right thing in the 1st place. But we live in a far from Ideal world. I do agree that a law without any plans or means to enforce it is worthless. In the case of litter on the ice ( and many other areas as well ) something really needed to be done. Just far to many total slobs in society. I for one sure hope they put a lot of effort into enforcing this law this winter. They may find that they have to increase the fine for it to have any real effect, and I’m more than fine with that. Far to many good people spend time picking up after slobs. I appreciate that, but it really should not be necessary.
I just hope the CO’s will exercise a little discretion and actually target the core issue of the problem, and not harass some poor guy out for a day in his portable, for having the temerity to need to pee. I expect most of them will, but it’s easy to see the potential for abuse.
Surprised they didn’t include sunflower seed shells specifically! 
I dont plan to take a dump on the ice but I’ll pee whenever/wherever I want to only being mindful of other people and not the new law.
I do not understand why everyone is so pissy about this (pun intended). Every year you guys complain about the amount of trash on the ice and things need to be done. Now a law is in place and you are pissy about that too.
Instead of nitpicking it to death with a bunch of what-ifs, and nothing will change because they can’t enforce, view it as a PSA reminder to contain your trash and hold the real slobs accountable. There is plenty of accidental trash that gets left out on the ice. If this law makes us good meaning people think twice about securing our trash from accidently getting blown around in the wind, covered in snow, frozen is slush, etc then that alone will help with the amount of trash left on the ice.
Blank why you being so reasonable and responsible. C’mon this is no place for that.
I don’t think anyone disagrees with the rationale for the law, or that something needs to happen to change the situation. Personally I’d be in favor of an annual “lake maintenance fee” in addition to license fees, specifically designated to providing expanded sanitation services at all DNR maintained access points. While punishing the offenders helps with behavior it doesn’t address the structural problems inherent with creating basically small habitations on lakes with no basic sanitation available. Telling folks to haul their crap, literal and figurative, off the ice is great, it doesn’t address what happens to it after. I’d rather see it (human waste that is) handled by actual sanitation professionals, and wind up treated in a sewage facility, than clogging every gas station garbage can in a 50 mile radius around a popular lake, and later contaminating a landfill somewhere. Same thing goes for garbage, it’s far more likely that it gets handled properly if there’s a place on site for it coming off the water than hoping someone will be responsible enough to take it home, or to an actual garbage can somewhere. Who knows, it’s probably a non starter, costs wise, but it would seem to me to be the actual solution needed for the problem. Plus it might actually create a few jobs for the folks who would be handling it all.
Im not paying a lake maintenance fee, because I don’t poop on the ice and leave fish rotting out in the sun with my leftover propane bottles. Ice fisherman did this, Ice fisherman need to fix the problem
What I really don’t get is why some entrepreneurial minded individual hasn’t had the idea to install a dedicated RV style dump site, with winter use in mind, near every one of the major wheelhouse lakes in the state. It would be a bit costlier to maintain winter access obviously, but once installation fees get covered, beyond routine maintenance it would be pure, low effort profit.
Summer fisherman are just as bad as Ice fisherman. Now people will just dump all of their crap at the public access. People leave a lot of trash and feces and dead fish all over the lake and public access summer and winter.
Interesting idea Wildlife guy, but I’m guessing there isn’t near enough waste haulers available to do this. They are short on drivers to begin with. Logistically it would be a nightmare if they had to find haulers for hundreds if not thousands of lakes with people ice fishing them.
I could see something like this for some of the bigger, more popular lakes though. If I’m not mistaken the original problem started from Upper Red lake.
Im not paying a lake maintenance fee, because I don’t poop on the ice and leave fish rotting out in the sun with my leftover propane bottles. Ice fisherman did this, Ice fisherman need to fix the problem
Pretty sure portajohns and garbage cans would get year-round use. I mean, if you’re somehow able to prevent bodily functions from occuring on demand, good on you, but we aren’t all so lucky.
Summer fisherman are just as bad as Ice fisherman.
I doubt that. A lot of lakes have porta potties on a seasonal basis. I believe they are removed in the winter months.
Not to mention there’s just more people out on the lake in the winter. One would gather that more people = more waste/trash.
Interesting idea Wildlife guy, but I’m guessing there isn’t near enough waste haulers available to do this. They are short on drivers to begin with. Logistically it would be a nightmare if they had to find haulers for hundreds if not thousands of lakes with people ice fishing them.
I could see something like this for some of the bigger, more popular lakes though. If I’m not mistaken the original problem started from Upper Red lake.
Yeah, that’s where the “maybe create some jobs” part would come in. I agree it’s probably not realistic for every lake in the state, though that would be ideal. I understand the aversion to “government work” around here, but it would honestly probably be more cost effective for the DNR to purchase the stuff and staff it (with final disposal handled by the usual parties) than try to contract it out, but the likelihood of that happening is about as close to zero as one can get.
When getting a peeing ticket take it to court and ask the officer where they pee when they are patrolling? Judge should throw out case. Or will we see DNR vehicle boats and sleds with porta pottys attached. Do they realize fish pee directly into the lake? I agree with the need to get rid of solid waste properly but pee that is from a dog etc is completely bs
Mwal
The cheapest option would be people pick up after themselves and stop complaining that they will get in trouble for being irresponsible. There’s a thousand fishable lakes in my county alone so good luck staffing that.
Thats all well and good riverat but there are people that just wont do it and we all know that otherwise it wouldnt need some new law to say its illegal and everyone with a conscience should already know this. What I pack in I pack out. I have been guilty of leaving minnow tails and peanuts shells and taking a leak on the ice which I hardly think are big deals.
If anglers were responsible and cleaned up after themselves there’d be no need for this law. We don’t want more government regulations but because of angler’s stupidity and laziness here we are.
Take your garbage home with you and dispose of it if you have to but don’t always expect that the DNR will always take care of it for you. They have much more important ways to spend their time and they shouldn’t have to allocate funds to clean up angler garbage.
Do your damn part and take your garbage off the lake when you leave a lake and stop complaining as many of you seem to be. Come on guys. Keep the ice clean.
Have some pride in what we have here in Minnesota.
It’s pretty simple to me.
Here is the good thing about this law.
Make a plan to store your garbage when you head out ice fishing. If you can’t store it inside your vehicle, bring colored garbage bags, a sturdy waste receptacle that won’t break in cold and the proper tools to secure them to your shelter, motor vehicle, snowmobile, trailer or other vehicles you drive out on the ice
It’s not littering until you leave it. Before CO would have to catch someone just after they left to ticket them. If your trash is not contained you get a ticket. Everything is now in one item and not laying all over. No more saying I will pick that all up when I leave. You have to keep it “clean” throughout your visit. It is attached to you somehow so it is harder to forget it and the wind doesn’t blow it across the lake.
We have laws against littering already. Another brain wave move from our state government. We don’t need more laws, we need more law enforcement.
If anglers were responsible and cleaned up after themselves there’d be no need for this law. We don’t want more government regulations but because of angler’s stupidity and laziness here we are.
Take your garbage home with you and dispose of it if you have to but don’t always expect that the DNR will always take care of it for you. They have much more important ways to spend their time and they shouldn’t have to allocate funds to clean up angler garbage.
Do your damn part and take your garbage off the lake when you leave a lake and stop complaining as many of you seem to be. Come on guys. Keep the ice clean.
Have some pride in what we have here in Minnesota.
It’s pretty simple to me.
If it were simple it wouldn’t be a problem.
Let’s use an example, let’s say your yard borders on a popular walking thouroughfare, lots of folks coming and going, crossing, what have you. For whatever reason, cutting through your property saves time, and as such folks are constantly traipsing through, trampling the flowers, wrecking the grass. You have a number of options, each with a chance of being effective at the goal, stopping folks walking through your yard. First, you put up a sign, politely asking folks to refrain from walking through your yard. Some abide by your request, but many do not, and the damage continues. Next, you place no trespassing signs, all over the property, you install cameras, and let the local authorities know to look out for problems, in essence you are utilizing the law to enforce your property rights. Again, some folks abide the warnings, some others are caught and punished for trespass, but others evade your cameras, and the police, and the damage remains. Finally, after much frustration, you install a fence, which proactively removes the temptation of those seeking a time saving short cut, and your lawn at last looks immaculate. This law is step two, and will likely lead to similar results. While it would be wonderful to live in a world where step one is all that’s needed, we live in a world as it is, not as we think it should be. Personally, I think the sooner we realize that step three is the answer, the sooner the problem goes away.
Install some stockades out there on the ice near some popular places and then give the offenders 1 full Sat locked up in em. It will be pristine out there.
If urine is included in this statute they are going to have a field day on Red! The DNR seems to use that lake for a DNR training ground and with all the sleeper rentals that are out there they’ll be fining every house every week regardless of how well contained the trash is.
Like this is an ice only problem. Walk down any road. Especially thoroughfares……
I’m normally not in favor of new laws like this, especially if they can’t be enforced. If I’m understanding it correctly, this one may be at least a little easier to enforce than the previous.
Prior to this law it was illegal to leave waste of any type on the ice when you left. But, once the perp left, it was virtually impossible for law enforcement to do anything about it.
With this law people will be forced to, at the very least, think about properly disposing of trash and have the necessary cans, trash bags, etc. with them at all times. If they don’t have that stuff with them, they likely weren’t planning to clean up after themselves. In that case a $100 fine may wake them up.
We shall see.
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