DNR urges removal of Otter Tail County fish houses by March 2

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources on Feb. 23 urged anglers who use fish houses on Otter Tail County lakes to remove shelters before statutory deadlines, warning that owners who fail to comply may be prosecuted and that structures left on the ice could be confiscated, removed, or destroyed by a conservation officer.

The DNR message lists March 2 as the removal date for inland waters in the southern two-thirds of the state, which includes Otter Tail County. Most outlets reprinting the DNR release cite an 11:59 p.m. cutoff on Monday, March 2; one local outlet, Fergus Now, reports a differing time of 12:59 p.m. that day. The DNR release and media pickups also list March 16 as the deadline for the northern one-third of Minnesota and March 31 for Minnesota-Canada border waters, including Lake of the Woods. Additional border deadlines noted in coverage include March 1 for Minnesota-Wisconsin waters, March 5 for Minnesota-North and South Dakota waters, and a Feb. 20 deadline that already passed for Minnesota-Iowa waters.

The DNR and local enforcement stress that anglers may still fish after the removal dates, but shelters left on the ice overnight are restricted. Shelters present between midnight and one hour before sunrise must be attended or occupied. The DNR’s Joe Albert, quoted in Fergus Now, said, “It doesn’t mean the ice fishing season is over. People can still fish, and you can still use fish houses. But if they’re going to be on the ice between midnight and an hour before sunrise, you basically need to be sleeping in them or fishing from them or kind of, you know, we use the word attending them.”

The agency also emphasized cleanups and environmental precautions. The DNR’s guidance reproduced in local outlets says owners must pick up and properly dispose of any trash and must remove wooden blocking materials even if those blocks are frozen into the ice. Lt. Col. Robert Gorecki, assistant director of the DNR Enforcement Division, urged careful removal and tidy exits: “It’s been a good, long season for many anglers. We’d like to see that continue and have this part of the season end on a high note, which means shelters off by the deadlines and the ice free of litter.”

Boundary rules determining which inland waters fall under the March 2 versus March 16 deadlines follow an east-west line described in DNR materials and local coverage: U.S. Highway 10 east along Highway 34 to Highway 200, east along Highway 200 to U.S. Highway 2, and east along Highway 2 to the Minnesota-Wisconsin border. Warm, record-high February temperatures and thin-ice warnings in central and southern Minnesota, including the Brainerd lakes area, underpin the urgency of the Feb. 23 reminder; some public water accesses already show deteriorated conditions.

With the March 2 deadline days away for Otter Tail County waters, the DNR enforcement message is clear: remove shelters from public access sites, clean up blocking and trash, and expect officers to remove or prosecute for abandoned structures left on the ice.