This winter will be the third since a new Minnesota state law prohibited leaving waste behind on frozen lakes, or even letting it touch the ice. The law can be enforced with a $100 fine, and officials say it’s working.
“From 2022 to 2024, the resorts, the businesses, the ice road businesses, said there’s a drastic difference in what they’re seeing. They know the program’s working. They’re all on board and joining,” said Zach Gutknecht, a project manager for the Northwest Watershed Division of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA).
Groups are working on a local scale at more than 50 lakes across the state, taking different approaches most appropriate for their regions.
“It’s grassroots efforts working on a statewide level,” Gutknecht said.
The MPCA has supported the efforts, which included outreach and education, with grant money from the Clean Water Fund. Grants are available through BWSR and many SWCDs, made possible by a 2025 legislative appropriation specifically for Keep It Clean efforts.
Mike Hirst, a resource conservationist with the Lake of the Woods Soil and Water Conservation District, said during the 2024-2025 ice fishing season, conservation officers issued 311 tickets, with 81 citations and 230 warnings statewide.
