Litter on the lakes

Heather Buffum of Meredith, who volunteered to clean up a mess of trash in Meredith Bay, peers across the lake from the town docks Thursday. (David Carkhuff/Laconia Daily Sun)

From a futon to beer cans, Meredith Bay sullied with trash

By DAVID CARKHUFF/THE LACONIA DAILY SUN

MEREDITH — This week, town crews gathered three dump-truck loads of debris that had been hauled off of Meredith Bay and took them to the transfer station for disposal.

Staff at the town transfer station confirmed that Department of Public Works workers brought in the mountain of trash for processing after residents helped collect and haul it off of the ice.

Heather Buffum of Meredith, who volunteered to clean up the mess in Meredith Bay, said the amount of refuse astonished her.

"We got all of the big stuff that was going to pollute or harm animals. We got that off last Saturday," she said.

Buffum said she and her husband gathered up two big sleds and an ice chipper and headed out on to the bay to collect the trash.

Debris they recovered included a futon couch frame with the full-size futon mattress, four metal fire pits, a 55-gallon steel drum full of wood planks, beer cans, trash, plastic bags, plastic bottles, beer cans, plastic netting, extension cords and a 6x6 fence post.

They were not able to collect everything — left behind were cement blocks, wooden pallets, planks, cord wood and a pile of wood chips.

"I think it's worse this year than ever. Last year, it wasn't too bad because there weren't any bob houses out there because the ice wasn't thick enough," Buffum said.

She said she and her husband focused on plastic bags and other debris that could injure fish and birds. But what they saw left an impression.

"There was a couch out there. It's crazy," Buffum said.

Buffum said she wrote to New Hampshire Fish and Game and the Meredith Rotary to raise attention.

"I don't know what it's going to take. Is Fish and Game going to have to go out and get the names of the people from the bob houses and take pictures and see what's left after?" she wondered.

New Hampshire Fish and Game confirmed that law enforcement officers have jurisdiction to enforce littering laws.

Fish and Game conservation officer Joe Canfield said, "Certainly, we take littering pretty seriously," and if the agency can get a tip on who left it there, they will follow up. But it's difficult, he said, when officers patrol miles of lake, and littering often occurs without anyone to blow the whistle.

"If anybody has any leads as to who left the trash, please give us a call," Canfield said.

The Fish and Game law enforcement division is available at 603-271-3127.

Littering generally is a violation or ticket-level offense, Canfield said.

One member of the public who bore witness to the debris — but who preferred not to be named — said he noticed a proliferation of trash on Meredith Bay but relatively little on Alton Bay.

"There's a ton of junk left out there," this witness said. "If you go to Alton, it's as clean as a whistle."

The individual added, "I've lived here all my life, and I've never seen such a mess in my life."

Jim Morash, general manager and one of the captains at Mount Washington Cruises, said the wintertime debris left by ice fishermen and others on the ice largely dissipates or floats to shore by the time the scenic cruises begin in late May.

By the time the cruise ship embarks, most of the debris that captains encounter is natural, like tree limbs, or pieces of some docks that were left in the water, and that broke up amid the ice and floated out, he said.

"In the spring, we are diligent in watching because there's always floating debris out there," Morash said, but most of it is natural.

But the challenge to prevent manmade debris from accumulating on the bay has persisted. Morash recalled the discussion from his days as an avid fisherman.

"I always preached when I was there, take off what you bring on," he said. "That's just common decency and common sense."

It's unclear how much of the trash left on the ice in Meredith Bay was attributable to the Great Rotary Fishing Derby, held Feb. 11 and 12. The derby sold 4,670 tickets, according to the derby Facebook page. (A derby official on Thursday said, "That is a lot of personal debris that is left there, it has nothing to do with the derby.")

Morash said a lesson he always embraced as a fisherman was to leave an area clean and unsullied.

"Being able to fish is a privilege and not a right when you get your license. You have to be able to take care of the environment," he said.

Pieces of wood litter Meredith Bay Thursday near the town park. (David Carkhuff/Laconia Daily Sun)

A beer can is submerged in open water in Meredith Bay. (David Carkhuff/Laconia Daily Sun)