Ice fish house deadline looms

The deadline to remove fish houses from northern Minnesota lakes is March 15. The removal deadline in the southern two-thirds of the state was March 1.

Anyone caught leaving litter — including any part of a fish house — on a lake may be cited for littering by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

If shelters aren’t removed by the deadline, owners will be prosecuted and structures may be confiscated and removed or destroyed. After the deadline, fish houses may still be on the ice if they are occupied between midnight and one hour before sunrise. Shelters may not be left or stored at public accesses.