New Fishing Line Disposal Receptacles at Lake Estes

Photos and story by Cindy Yeast, EVWC board member

Every year, thousands of birds are killed or injured by fishing line, according to the website, intoBirds. Additionally, fishing line can kill or harm other aquatic life, as well as any other animals that come into contact with discarded fishing line and hooks. Most people who live and fish here in the Estes Valley are responsible about properly discarding fishing line and gear, but there are many fishers who seem to think that fishing line left behind is not going to cause any harm. However, in addition to putting wildlife at risk of injury and death, fishing line is a plastic pollutant that takes at least 600 years to degrade.

Due to the large amount of fishing line that is left behind at Lake Estes, the Wandering Wildlife Society (WWS) of the Estes Valley Watershed Coalition made a request of the Estes Valley Recreation and Park District (EVPRD) to install additional fishing line disposal receptacles at the lake. Tom Carosello, EVPRD Executive Director, approved the request made by WWS. This spring, John Feeney, EVRPD District Maintenance Manager, and his team installed six additional receptacles at areas popular with fishers at the lake.

While these receptacles will help reduce the amount fishing line improperly discarded, there will always be those fishers who will either intentionally or unintentionally leave behind cut line. So please – if you see fishing line on the ground or in trees and bushes at Lake Estes or any other popular fishing areas, retrieve it and dispose of it – you might be saving a life.