Mille Lacs Lake Joins the “Keep It Clean” Campaign

Mille Lacs Lake has joined the Keep It Clean campaign. The campaign, which originated with Lake of the Woods in 2012, was also recently adopted by Red Lake. Designed to address the growing problem of garbage and other harmful materials left on the lakes by anglers during the ice fishing season, Keep It Clean focuses on leaving no trace.

Among the state’s most popular walleye fishing destinations, Lake of the Woods, Red Lake, and Mille Lacs Lake hope that other Minnesota lakes come on board. The Keep It Clean campaign gives us a universal language and key messages to help support ongoing education, awareness, enforcement and cleanup efforts. Well-known fishing destinations in Minnesota have an opportunity to lead the way.

The belief behind the campaign is that the more awareness we can create about this issue, the better the outcome will be for all of us who enjoy using the lakes for fishing, snowmobiling, boating, swimming and other sporting and recreational activities.

In recent years, all three lakes have seen a dramatic increase in winter activity. The popularity of ice fishing has grown quickly with better technology, better equipment and wheelhouses, which make staying on the ice for extended periods of time more comfortable. With the increased activity comes more pressure on the natural resources including an increase in the amount of garbage and waste left on the lake. During the 2020-2021 ice fishing season, Lake of the Woods clocked roughly 2.7 million angler hours. Mille Lacs and Red Lake weren’t far behind.

To help reduce the amount of waste left on the ice, Keep It Clean encourages ice anglers and their guests take the following steps:

• Make a plan for trash and waste removal before you arrive. Whether you access the lake from a public or private access, plan to take off of the lake what you take on to the lake. Many access points and resorts offer garbage collection services. If your site doesn’t, make a plan to transport it home for disposal.
• Use colored garbage bags. In snowy conditions, white trash bags can be difficult to see. Brightly colored or even black bags are easier to spot making it less likely trash will inadvertently be left behind.
• Take a moment before you depart the ice to make sure that you have picked up any garbage in your area. And if you notice someone else has left something behind, take a moment to pick it up and bring it with you.
• Secure your garbage before traveling. High winds, bumpy ice roads and other conditions on or off the lake can cause unsecured bags of garbage to fall out of truck beds and off of trailers and sleds without you even realizing it.
• Make sure you have the tools you need to move or remove a fish house. Support blocks, insulation, landscaping fabric, wood and other materials need to be properly disposed of and not left behind.