joe.henry@lakeofthewoodsmn.com

Lake of the Woods Keep It Clean Program: A History and Update

Keep It Clean sign on a Lake of the Woods ice road

The Keep It Clean Campaign began on Lake of the Woods after the 2012 ice fishing season. During a local water planning meeting, a county commissioner raised concerns about the amount of trash left behind on the ice. That same year, the Friends of Zippel Bay State Park organized a shoreline cleanup after the ice melted. From just a small section of shoreline, volunteers collected five trailer loads of trash and waste.
In response, the Lake of the Woods Soil and Water Conservation District brought together a diverse group of partners to address the issue. This group included Lake of the Woods County, the Lake of the Woods and Roseau County Soil and Water Conservation Districts, the Lake of the Woods Tourism Bureau, DNR Fisheries, DNR Enforcement, and the Friends of Zippel Bay State Park.

The committee recognized that ice fishing had grown rapidly in popularity. New technology, better equipment, and the rise of wheelhouses made it easier for anglers to stay on the ice for long periods of time. With more people on the lake, the amount of garbage and waste left behind also increased. On a busy weekend, Lake of the Woods can see around 10,000 people on the ice, about 4,000 fish houses with an average of 2.5 people each. For comparison, the entire population of Lake of the Woods County is only 4,000 people.

From the start, partnerships with resorts and outfitters played a key role in educating the public. The committee worked with local businesses to teach anglers how to properly dispose of trash and waste while enjoying the lake. Many businesses now use Keep It Clean signs and banners on ice roads, promote winter RV dump stations, include messages on road passes, and hand out items like decals and tabletop tents.

The campaign has focused on four main areas: education, projects, policy, and annual shoreline cleanups.
• Education includes signs, banners, digital and print marketing, and other promotional materials that continue to be an important part of the program.
• Projects include a dumpster program, the creation and promotion of winter RV dump stations, and other efforts to manage garbage and human waste on the lake.
• Policy changes have helped improve how resorts handle their own trash and waste.
• Shoreline cleanups take place every year in partnership with the Minnesota and Iowa Conservation Corps. These cleanups help measure the success of Keep It Clean. Each year, volunteers clean 12–15 miles of shoreline. Over 12 years, nearly 1,000 bags of trash have been collected.

The success of the Keep It Clean program comes from the strong involvement of its partners. The grassroots committee works together to protect and maintain the natural beauty of Lake of the Woods. DNR Conservation Officers and Fisheries staff provide on the ground insight. The Tourism Bureau represents resorts and local businesses. The Soil and Water Conservation District coordinates efforts, while county offices and public works departments bring in the broader perspective of local government. Local officials and the Friends of Zippel Bay State Park add important community viewpoints.

Nearly 14 years later, the Keep It Clean program is still going strong—not only on Lake of the Woods, but on many lakes across Minnesota and even in neighboring states. What began as a local effort expanded statewide when partners from Red Lake and Mille Lacs joined in. In 2023, Minnesota passed a law making it illegal to place trash on or under the ice.
The 2025–2026 ice fishing season marks the 14th year of Keep It Clean efforts on Lake of the Woods. This year’s work is supported by Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment funding.

This season, the campaign is again focusing on educating anglers about the 2023 law that prohibits leaving garbage or waste on or under the ice on Minnesota lakes and rivers.
The Keep It Clean campaign continues to grow, and its message is spreading across the state. More information can be found at www.KeepItCleanMN.org.

Human Waste Dumpsters Protecting the Waters of Upper Red Lake

Keep It Clean dumpster program, Upper Red Lake, Beltrami County SWCD

The KEEP IT CLEAN Human Waste Dumpster Program is protecting Upper Red Lake’s public waters again
this winter. This free resource is available to all guests who access the frozen lake to ice fish or camp.

Specialized dumpsters arrived at seven locations at the beginning of December and stay until the end of
February for your convenience. They are set up next to the business waste bins per our county ordinances.
Everyone is encouraged to abide by the Keep it Clean law and do their part to keep pet and human waste off
the ice and out of solid waste bins.

This the third winter our association has been running this successful program in partnership with Beltrami
County SWCD. The program is funded by the Board of Water and Soil Resources through a Clean Water
Partners Grant with Beltrami SWCD, the Red Lake Watershed District Board, Waskish Township, Shotley
Township and Upper Red Lake Area Association.

If you are arriving to our area on Highway #72 from the south, it’s hard to miss a vibrant billboard reminding us
to KEEP IT CLEAN. Once you arrive to Upper Red Lake for a fishing or winter recreation experience you may
also catch a glimpse of our amazing educational wheelhouse which was a hit at the Minnesota State Fair and
other local events.

We thank the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for providing these opportunities to educate the public with
funds from the Clean Water Land and Legacy Grant. We thank the Red Lake Watershed District Board for
championing our human waste removal program. We thank our Upper Red Lake Area Association members
for being incredible supporters of this important work and we look forward to being a part of exciting things to
come.

Whether you are a resident or visiting the area, THANK YOU FOR BEING A KEEP IT CLEAN PARTNER at
Upper Red Lake, Minnesota!

Learn more about Keep It Clean

Learn more about the Upper Red Lake Area Association

Keep It Clean Update… Beltrami Soil & Water Conservation District

Keep It Clean sign, Upper Red Lake, Beltrami County SWCD

The 2026 ice angling season is in full swing, and anglers have been blessed with a true Minnesota winter. Beltrami SWCD is grateful to collaborate with our partners in continuing the mission of keeping our lakes free of human waste and garbage during the hardwater season and with your help, this is an achievable goal.

Several years ago, resorts, outfitters, and property owners on Upper Red Lake began raising concerns of a growing problem on Upper Red Lake of garbage and human waste left on the ice. Waste and garbage accumulation on the ice seemed to have grown as fast or faster than the growing popularity of ice fishing and Ice Castle style fish houses. Through partnerships with the Upper Red Lake Area Association (URLAA) and others, we began to tackle this issue head-on.

Initially, the SWCD and URLAA worked to come up with a plan for Upper Red Lake. Since funding for Keep It Clean didn’t exist, several creative partnerships were formed to address the issue. Funding was secured from several sources, including the Red Lake Watershed District and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), to put forward the KIC initiative that we know today. Our partnerships with the association, local resort owners, and outfitters allowed for an effective approach in promoting KIC ideas and informing anglers of their responsibility to keep the lake free of garbage and waste. Through our partnerships, we’ve successfully implemented four seasons of waste collection facilities and education for the Upper Red Lake area, preventing over 23 tons of human waste and garbage from entering the lake.

Beltrami SWCD was among the founding members of the Keep It Clean Executive Committee, who collectively secured legislative support in passing the Keep It Clean bill. Signed into law in May 2023, it is now illegal to place garbage and waste on or under the ice on Minnesota’s lakes and rivers. We are continuing delivery of KIC messaging through numerous avenues, to empower anglers in making a difference on the waters they value. We’ve constructed billboards along travel corridors, installed signage at resort access points, and produced a series of “Be Nice to Our Ice” videos for social media campaigning. In 2022, we traveled to the Minnesota State Fair with the KIC wheelhouse, where we interacted with thousands of fairgoers to share our message and distribute promotional items. The Keep It Clean wheelhouse has put on many miles throughout Minnesota but spends most of the time in the Upper Red Lake area and with our partners at Lake of the Woods SWCD. We have been working with the MPCA, who is deploying a new Keep It Clean messaging campaign through their social media team, to assist us in reaching a state-wide audience this ice fishing season.

This season, we have received a new grant to further the Keep It Clean initiative locally in Beltrami County. Through this funding, we will continue delivering additional media campaigns, creating short video clips for distribution, and utilizing the Keep It Clean wheelhouse (yes, that’s a thing) and the Keep It Clean trailer at various events throughout the year.

The Keep It Clean campaign in Minnesota aims to change the mindset of those bad actors who contribute to the waste issue on high use fishery destinations such as Upper Red Lake. We could not implement this campaign without our partnerships with the Red Lake DNR, URLAA, Lake of the Woods SWCD, the MPCA, Red Lake Watershed District, Resorts, outfitters, Clean Water Land & Legacy Partners, and continued general support from the ice fishing community. Beltrami SWCD, and our partners, are grateful to play a role in continue protecting clean water on our area lakes through the Keep It Clean program.

Minnesota’s Keep It Clean Law – Protecting Our Waters

There’s a new law in Minnesota that took effect in July 2023, and it’s making a real difference for our lakes and rivers. The Keep It Clean law makes it illegal to place any kind of garbage or waste on or below the ice. If you ice fish, snowmobile, or enjoy any other winter activities on Minnesota’s frozen lakes, you need to keep your trash contained in a fish house, vehicle, or enclosed container. This simple change is expected to prevent tons of garbage from entering Minnesota waters every year.

How Keep It Clean Started

About 13 years ago, a small group from the Lake of the Woods area started an effort to educate people about keeping trash and human waste off the ice. They called themselves Keep It Clean, and their message struck a chord.

The group grew naturally as other areas facing similar challenges reached out. Upper and Lower Red Lake, Lake Mille Lacs, and Lake Vermilion were among the early members. Fast forward to today, and there are now more than 60 organizations participating in Keep It Clean, representing over 1,500 lakes across Minnesota.

The New Law Explained

In a nutshell, the new law says it is now illegal to place trash or waste on or below the ice. Ice anglers and others are supposed to keep their trash and waste in their fish house, vehicle, or an enclosed container. It’s not a big change for most people, but it will make a huge difference for our waterways.

Most ice anglers and other winter recreation enthusiasts already do a good job keeping track of their garbage and being responsible. But even well-meaning people can run into problems. Picture this: you spend multiple nights on the ice and set some garbage bags outside your fish house, planning to pick them up before you leave. Then things happen. Fifty-mile-per-hour winds blow bags away. Birds tear into them. The bags freeze into the ice. Snow covers them. You pick up most of the garbage but miss a bit.

With ice fishing as popular as it is today, leaving just a little bit behind—multiplied by tens of thousands of ice anglers—adds up to tons of garbage. The Keep It Clean law helps eliminate a good portion of that problem.

Planning Ahead for Bathroom Needs

The law also encourages people on the ice to plan ahead for bathroom breaks. If you’re staying at a resort, many offer facilities out on the ice. If you’re on your own, it’s important to have a realistic plan.

Some of the more modern wheelhouse, or fish houses on wheels, now have heated holding tanks to hold waste from using the bathroom. It is important to have a plan on where there are winter pump out stations to empty your tanks.

The Lake of the Woods area has two winter pump-out stations for wheelhouses with heated holding tanks. Other areas in the state are starting to create winter dump stations as well. This infrastructure helps ice anglers dispose of waste properly. The key is to plan ahead.

Enforcement and Penalties

The new legislation gives Minnesota DNR Conservation Officers the ability to enforce trash and waste issues on the ice. In the past, the way laws were written made it very difficult to take action against garbage left behind.

Here’s what the law says: A person using a shelter, motor vehicle, or any other vehicle on the ice cannot deposit garbage, rubbish, cigarette filters, fireworks debris, dead animals, litter, sewage, or any other waste outside unless it’s placed in a container that is secured to the shelter or vehicle and not placed directly on the ice or in state waters.

A violation is a petty misdemeanor with a civil penalty of $100 for each violation.

Recognizing Those Who Care

Most people who use the ice really do a great job picking up their trash. The “pack it in, pack it out” motto is well known and widely followed.
Many unsung heroes—including ice guides across Lake of the Woods and other Minnesota lakes—go out of their way to pick up after others on a regular basis. If you’re one of these conscientious folks, thank you. Your efforts make a real difference.

Thank You to Our Supporters

We want to thank the many organizations and legislators who supported this legislation: various Minnesota legislators, the Minnesota DNR, Minnesota Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Minnesota Lakes and Rivers, MN-FISH, and the many Keep It Clean member organizations across the state. This is the type of legislation that makes good sense and will have a positive lasting impact on Minnesota’s waterways.

Join the Effort

Want to be part of the solution? To join Keep It Clean or learn more about the program, visit our website at www.keepitcleanmn.org.
Together, we’re keeping Minnesota’s waters clean for generations to come.