When a big one gets away, it’s not just anglers who lose out; Minnesota’s loons and lakes pay the price for leftover lead.
Transcript
This is Minnesota's Legacy, a look at the organizations and the people who have benefited from Minnesota's Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment.
Xan Holston: Every Minnesota kid who's dropped a line knows the thrill of a bite and the disappointment when a big one gets away.
Kelly Amoth: Every angler, no matter your skill, has had a fish get away with your fishing tackle.
Xan Holston: Kelly Amoth does youth outreach for the Minnesota Pollution Control agency’s Get the Lead Out program, supported by the state's Clean Water and Legacy Fund.
Kelly Amoth: Trying to promote some generational change, getting kids started as lead-free fisher people.
Xan Holston: This includes visiting schools statewide and summertime fishing camps in the metro area to help teach why lead tackle is so dangerous. A myth says it may be cheaper, but it doesn't biodegrade, meaning it remains an environmental hazard forever.
Kelly Amoth: If my grandfather was fishing 80 years ago and lost fishing tackle, it is still wherever he lost it.
Xan Holston: It's also deadly for Minnesota state bird the common loon. They swallow small stones to help digest food, and if they pick up a lost lead sinker instead.
Kelly Amoth: Within two or three weeks of getting even the smallest piece of lead fishing tackle inside of them, a loon will unfortunately die. With this small action of just changing the type of tackle we're using, we're protecting so many bird species, ourselves and our water.
Minnesota's Legacy is produced by AMPERS with support from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Online at AMPERS dot ORG.