The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is advising ice hut owners and anglers that ice conditions are expected to deteriorate quickly in certain parts of the province before the required removal date. “You need to plan ahead in order to remove your ice hut before it's too late,” the MNRF said in a news release Friday. “Conservation officers are strongly recommending that all ice hut owners start developing a plan now on how they will remove their ice huts and implement it before the ice conditions deteriorate and removal becomes unsafe or impossible.” The required removal dates are March 1 in fisheries management zones (FMZ) 17 and 20; March 15 in FMZ 14, 16, 18, 19 and below the Lake Timiskaming dam in FMZ 12; and, March 31 in FMZ 9, 10, 11, 15 and above the Lake Timiskaming dam in FMZ 12. “Ice hut owners are responsible for removing all debris, garbage etc. from the ice in the vicinity of their ice huts,” the MNRF said. “Leaving debris frozen in the ice becomes an environmental and public safety concern (e.g. boaters colliding with wooden blocks, tarps, ice hut parts, etc.).” If ice huts are left out on the ice and allowed to fall through beyond the removal date, the matter will be investigated and may result in charges being laid against the owner of the hut.
