Fishing line by ponds in Colorado city piles up and tangles wildlife

CBS News

4 days ago

Among those casting off at Longmont's Golden Ponds, Anna Rivas is stuck cleaning up.
"Every time I come out here for a walk, I end up having to pick up fishing line," Rivas said.
Rivas fills bags full of littered fishing line nearly every day, but the ones she misses are sometimes found by local wildlife.
"The birds they get, like Percy our little pelican, got it wrapped around his wing. He ended up being unable to fly," Rivas said.
Percy was a pelican in the Golden Ponds. After neighbors noticed he was hurt, the entire community rallied around him. Photos of Percy received hundreds of comments online and brought more attention from Longmont Park Rangers.
"We were just trying to mobilize, and the best part was actually getting to pair with the community," Temporary Longmont Park Ranger Sommer Swasey said.
Community members had been calling city resources about Percy for about a month. Rangers had attempted to rescue him twice. But finally, a third attempt, paired with the community's help, was able to get Percy out of the water.
Once Percy was seen by professionals, unfortunately his injuries were too severe, and he had to be euthanized. Now community members want more to be done to help other wildlife when they get stuck.
Regina Raeley led many of the community efforts to organize the water rescue. "Their bureaucratic tape, and the red tape for them getting out here delayed this Pelican from being able to be properly rehabilitated," Raeley said.
Longmont Park Rangers say they are seeing more birds than usual getting tangled this time of year. But right now, they also shared their efforts to balance those calls and any human emergencies at their parks.
"Whether it's a raccoon, a bird, anything of that nature, getting out there as quickly as we can, it just depends on the urgency of the call. Because we have a lot of parks under our jurisdiction," Swasey said.
Meanwhile, Longmont neighbors like Rivas hope city hall can bring in a lifeline with more fishing regulations at local ponds in an effort to limit how many hooks, lines, and sinkers get left behind.
"Make people be more careful with it. Yes, but we also need to leave some places safe for the animals and the birds," Rivas said.
Swasey said that after this incident, rangers are working to spend more resources and time on fishing safety. Meanwhile, community members want more collaboration moving forward, as they all work for the same cause.