advertisement

Wheaton advocate: Dispose of your fishing line for the sake of animals

Amy Tavolino constantly scans the ground when she walks along the shores of places such as Herrick Lake near Wheaton.

She spends so much time looking down, in fact, that strangers often ask what she's doing.

Her answer is both simple and complex: she's looking for discarded fishing line that, when left behind in forest preserves and other natural areas, can have dire and unintended consequences for wildlife.

Birds, for example, can become so entangled in fishing line that they can't free themselves, and die. Turtles can accidentally swallow hooks. And monofilament never decomposes so it's a constant threat.

Tavolino, who lives in Wheaton and volunteers with a bird rescue group, says the birds and animals injured by fishing line and hooks at suburban parks and forest preserves have become too numerous to count.

She has encountered Canada geese with their legs bound together by fishing line, ducks with hooks in their mouths, and ensnared birds.

Despite her best efforts, Tavolino says many of the animals died.

So she has committed herself to trying to prevent such injuries from happening in the first place.

She spends hours each week at popular fishing spots around DuPage County, picking up what fishermen have left behind.

"I am not anti-fishing," Tavolino said. "I just want to get the word out because there's so many people that don't know about this."

She said fishermen must properly dispose of unwanted line, hooks, lures and bobbers.

"Don't leave it laying around because something will get stuck on it - something will die from it," Tavolino said.

During a visit last week to Herrick Lake Forest Preserve, Tavolino found yards of fishing line along with hooks, bobbers and sinkers.

In one spot, she spied a long fishing line on the ground that had a hook and rubber worm attached to it. The sad part: whoever left the line behind was just steps from one of the many monofilament recycling bins the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County installed at Herrick Lake.

There are even signs above the bins asking fishermen to "keep our waterways tangle free" and to recycle their fishing line responsibly.

"They don't care," Tavolino said of people who leave lines and lures behind.

"They just kick it aside. If you don't think it harms anything or you don't care, you're just going to leave it."

DuPage forest preserve officials acknowledge that discarded monofilament has been a problem for years at their more popular fishing spots.

"We have staff that tries to maintain those areas as best as possible," said Jay Johnson, a manager of site operations with the district.

"We also get volunteer groups to help us pick up trash and fishing line whenever possible."

Bob McNeel, assistant manager of the district's west rangers, said some of the litter is inadvertent. Some of the fishing line gets caught in trees and shrubs by mistake.

McNeel said the district began installing monofilament recycling bins around busier lakes about five years ago. It then posted signs showing pictures of injured wildlife. The signs read: "Litter hurts."

A full-page advertisement in the district's fishing guide talks about how Willowbrook Wildlife Center each year treats "hundreds of wild animals injured by fishing tackle."

The facility in Glen Ellyn cares for injured native species and strives to release them back into the wild.

Fox Valley Wildlife Center also treats a number of animals injured by unwanted fishing line.

"It's a very common occurrence," said Laura Kirk, a director of animal care at the Elburn wildlife hospital. "It happens quite a bit. We probably always have at least one goose that was brought in due to fishing line."

Other animals are affected, too; one wildlife specialist says turtles have swallowed fish hooks with bait.

Local laws ban littering, but forest preserve officials say it's hard to catch someone in the act.

"We really are dependent upon voluntary public compliance," said Robert Lahey, the district's director of community services and education.

"If people don't understand the dangers involved, that's why we put our signs up that say litter hurts."

In the meantime, the DuPage forest preserve district will continue its education campaign.

"We want people to be able to recreate in the preserves and utilize the resources," McNeel said. "But we want them also to do it responsibly."

If fishing line gets wrapped tightly around the leg of a bird, the animal could lose the leg. The goose in this photograph was treated and released into the wild. Courtesy of Amy Tavolino
Experts say birds aren't the only animals being injured by fishing trash. Turtles have swallowed fishing hooks because they have bait. Courtesy of Amy Tavolino
A Canada goose with a hook caught in its bill was rescued at Lake Ellyn in Glen Ellyn. Courtesy of Amy Tavolino
  Amy Tavolino displays fishing line she has picked up from various lakeshores throughout DuPage County. Daniel White/dwhite@dailyherald.com
  Wheaton resident Amy Tavolino finds improperly disposed fishing line along the shores of Herrick Lake. The line can entangle local duck and goose populations. Daniel White/dwhite@dailyherald.com
  Numerous recycling tubes are readily available in DuPage County forest preserves for anglers to dispose of their fishing lines. Daniel White/dwhite@dailyherald.com
  Wheaton resident Amy Tavolino finds improperly disposed fishing line along the shores of Herrick Lake. The line can entangle local duck and goose populations. Daniel White/dwhite@dailyherald.com
  Sometimes fishing line and equipment can be found hanging from trees. Wildlife advocates say the fishing tackle presents a deadly threat to birds and other animals. Daniel White/dwhite@dailyherald.com
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.