joe.henry@lakeofthewoodsmn.com

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.

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.

Keep It Clean Update… Beltrami Soil & Water Conservation District

Minnesota’s Keep It Clean Law – Protecting Our Waters