In a recent Letter to the Editor, a HopNews reader, Lisa Goldwyn and her brother found a bat ensnared by fishing line in a tree next to Lake Whitehall. Unfortunately, the bat was subsequently euthanized.
>> RELATED: Letter to the Editor: Impact of Abandoned Fishing Gear
Another reader, Ed Harrow, reflected on a similar incident in July where he encountered a barred owl caught by its wing in a mass of monofilament near Whitehall. “We managed to rescue it, and Bill Proctor took it to Tufts, where the outcome was equally sad,” Harrow shared.
He also noted, “Some may have observed that the monofilament tangled in the branches of certain pines by the Whitehall boat ramp has been cleared away. I extend my heartfelt thanks to those who undertook this task.”
HopNews discovered that the Hopkinton Fire Department, under the guidance of Chief Daugherty, was responsible for the removal of fishing line and hooks from the trees near the Lake Whitehall boat ramp.
If you find yourself with fishing line tangled in trees, and you cannot remove it by yourself, please call the fire department as they may be able to help.
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Thank you Chief Daugherty and the Hopkinton Fire Department!
I’ve fished since I was a young kid. It’s just lazy to leave fishing line behind stuck to a tree. If you’re going to fish, make sure you take everything with you that you can when you’re finished. If you can’t do that, don’t bother fishing.