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I was a mere seven years old in 1971, and like most adults, I don't recall too many details of my early childhood. However, I do remember a very poignant image that aired on TV in the early '70s with such startling clarity that it has remained forever locked in my long-term memory banks. It was the disquieting image of a single tear and a simple message that changed the habits and belief systems of an entire generation. Do you remember it now? That single tear rolled down the deeply etched face of Iron Eyes Cody, an actor that portrayed a proud Indian in the Keep America Beautiful ad campaign. This public service announcement was originally broadcasted on Earth Day in 1971 and it opened up a lot of eyes to the environmental concerns of the day.

So, why dredge up this old memory now? Why take that uncomfortable trip down Litter Lane? I'll tell you why. My brother and I pulled our gear out onto Chisago Lake to do some crappie fishing in front of the A-frame last Saturday. As we approached a sizeable group of permanent and portable shelters at the Happy Fishing Grounds, I began to see things - a whole lot of things - that had no business being on the ice: empty disposable propane bottles, smashed beer cans, bits of Styrofoam, crumpled cigarette packages and cigarette butts. There were, quite literally, too many butts to count. Then I had the depressing thought that I was gazing upon a very limited section of a rather large lake. Then my misery compounded when I realized that this was only one of many lakes in the area and one of thousands across the state. Jeez, it made me sort of queasy and I suddenly didn't feel so good about crappie fishing.

I've only used this column once in the past years to vent my spleen and editorialize, but I thought that this topic warranted a second occasion. I should make one thing perfectly straight before I hop up on my soapbox and expose myself as a hypocrite of sorts: I'm not an around-the-bend-touchy-feely-mother-earth-guy. As far as the state of our planet goes, I'm certainly as concerned as the next person. There's no doubt about that. I do, however, drive an SUV and secretly love the smell of exhaust that spews from a two-cycle engine. I don't exactly have what is popularly known these days as a tiny "energy footprint." I would be the first in line to buy an affordable electric automobile, but only if they could make them travel further than forty miles between charges and break the $100,000 price barrier. Well, in my case, I guess they'd need to break the $10,000 price barrier. You get what I mean. Keeping the fact that I need to use an internal combustion engine to move from Point A to Point B aside, I'd like to think that I'm a conscientious and prudent person as it relates to the environment.

One thing I can do today is make a heartfelt request of all the anglers out there to leave the ice in better shape than you found it. Take along a garbage bag and spend a few minutes at the end of the outing to pick up. I refuse to believe that I'm the only person out there on the lakes that is absolutely appalled at what I see. We'll make it a collective New Year's resolution that we can all keep. By the way, the message of that highly effective Keep America Beautiful ad campaign was "People start pollution, people can stop it." As it relates to littering as a whole and the specific concern I'm addressing today, the solution to that simple message is as easy as picking up after one another.

My brother and I took the time to collect and pack out the garbage and recyclables we could manage to kick free from the ice. We made a small dent in cleaning it up and there's plenty more where that come from. I know one thing for sure. If Ol' Iron Eyes Cody was still around and stepped out onto that lake with us the other day, he would've cried a river.

Dan Brown's weekly outdoor column is brought to you by Frankie's Bait and Marine, in Chisago City, and St. Croix Outdoors, in St. Croix Falls, Wis.

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