Some Idaho Falls residents living near the Snake River want to put a stop to ice fishing near where they live. It seems that Gem Lake Harbor is the topic of discussion here.

Residents say they are tired of power ice augers running early in the morning as well as litter being strewn everywhere. Of course the ice fishermen say they have a right to fish there.

Now, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game along with Bonneville County officials, are trying to determine if Gem Lake Harbor is a private canal or a natural tributary. If it is private, then it can be closed.

There are two things in this story that jump out at me and I hope they jump out at you too. The first is the despicable act of littering by outdoorsmen. There is no excuse. Doing that is just plain ignorant.

The second thing is it appears that if littering is a problem here, then perhaps authorities need to be writing some tickets for littering. That shouldn’t be that difficult a thing to do.

There is also a matter of respect and consideration that could be considered by the fishermen in running power equipment early in the morning. Perhaps this is a trivial thing but if the fishing was that good, I think I would do whatever I needed to keep peace with the natives.

Tom Remington