The Sylvan Lake Management Committee is strongly recommending that the public remove their ice fishing huts from the ice on Sylvan Lake before March 25th- March 27th (the Easter Long Weekend) because of rapidly deteriorating ice conditions.
All too often, ice fishing huts are abandoned on the lake during spring thaw. Debris from the abandoned huts and their contents (like wood, gasoline, oils and plastics) are a health and safety concern and can harm fish and waterfowl in the area.
Since the beginning the Take It Off program, we have been able to reduce the number of ice huts left out on the lake from 25 to one or two, or even none. We encourage everyone to help us continue this remarkable progress and not have a major setback because of an early spring.
As of April 1st, any remaining huts will be removed and delivered to the Sylvan Lake Waste Transfer station. If unclaimed, the huts will be destroyed and the remains permanently disposed of. However, the Sylvan Lake Management Committee is concerned that the end of March may be too late to safely remove the huts from the ice, because of the warm temperatures.
Take It Off is managed by the Sylvan Lake Management Committee, with the support of five summer villages at Sylvan Lake, Lacombe and Red Deer counties, the Town of Sylvan Lake, Sylvan Lake RCMP, Alberta Environment and Parks and the Sylvan Lake Fish and Game Association.