Tim Hawkins described a time he went tubing on a lake in Minnesota at his friends cabin. He correctly (and hilariously), describes the tubing culture on Minnesota Lakes.
The threat of invasive species in the Land of 10,000 Lakes has been around for many years. One county in the state is stepping up efforts to fight the spread of these unwanted aquatic hitchhikers, which raises the question, should others follow suit?
By now you would hope that many of us would be educated enough to know about the dangers of spreading invasive species with our watercraft. The DNR has made a huge effort in the past decade to educate the public. We're used to inspecting our boats and trailers for invasive species, but in some cases some of these species may spread and grow another way: boat lifts and docks.
A study has been done on 50 lakes across Minnesota looking for chemicals that find their way into the lakes. The most common chemical was DEET (used in bug spray). Followed by a plastics chemical, and then surprisingly cocaine showed up. Sometimes the cocaine was even found in remote lakes not near a sewer run off.
Every year we hear about people falling through the ice on the lakes. Especially now with the warmer early winter weeks, it's important for people to understand when and how to venture out on the ice. According to the MN DNR, ice is never 100% safe!