Fishing Lures and Lines
Carelessly discarded fishing tackle causes crippling injuries and sometimes death to many wild birds and turtles in Milwaukee County each year.
You can help prevent suffering and death for wildlife by watching for discarded fishing line and lures when you walk near ponds, lakes and rivers. Watch out for hooks, cut fishing line into pieces less than six inches long and throw them in the trash.
If you are an angler, use non-toxic fishing weights and sinkers instead of those made of lead. Lead is a highly toxic metal that causes the deaths of many wild birds, especially waterfowl, in Wisconsin each year. For more information, go to the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative’s Lead Poisoning of Wisconsin’s Birds Issues Paper.
We need you to become a Line Ranger! Line Rangers volunteer to patrol one or more of our county park ponds or other fishing areas in Milwaukee County at least once per week during the late spring, summer and fall to look for and pick up fishing line to help protect wildlife. Please e-mail us to let us know if you are interested in helping wild animals by becoming a Line Ranger. We will let you know which areas need the most attention.
The Wildlife Rehabilitation Center is always looking for safe places to release hand-raised orphaned Cottontails, Raccoons, Opossums, Gray Squirrels and Mallards. Can you help?
