Project Pick Up Fishing Line volunteers join activist Jann Nichols (center, in black) at Mather Lake in Rancho Cordova. In one year on the job, they have bundled and bagged many miles of discarded line.

SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) - A volunteer team has taken on a mission to clear miles of abandoned fishing line from local rivers and waterways.

Calling themselves “Project Pick Up Fishing Line,” 10 nature lovers are leading other helpers to comb riverbanks for an almost invisible danger.

“Fishing line causes suffering and death to birds and a host of other river inhabitants,” explained Jann Nichols, the group founder. Nichols, a photographer, has documented many situations of animal entanglement.

Exhausted and near drowned by a hook and line encounter, a gull is rescued at Sailor Bar in Fair Oaks.

“In some cases, rescuers have freed birds from hooks and line,” she reported. “In tragic cases, animals don’t survive. Pets can also come to grief on trails through similar accidents.”

Nichols acknowledged that lines get snagged and accidents happen.

“But usually, our volunteers are easily able to free and dispose of fishing gear,” she said.  “If we can do this, so could anglers. We’re also collecting hundreds of items of trash left in fishing spots. Litter is not abandoned by accident.”

Project Pick-Up has successfully lobbied for county agencies to place receptacles and signage in fishing spots.

“We want people to be aware that a careless act can endanger lives,” Nichols said. “We also want them to know there are people you can call to save a trapped or injured creature.”

Nichols and friends were recently on hand when a swan died after ingesting fishing line at Cameron Park Lake in El Dorado County. Its organs were so damaged and the bird in such distress that euthanasia was the rescuers’ only resort.

“He’d swallowed so much line that his intestines were accordioned,” explained rescue expert and Project Pick-Up volunteer Leslie Ackerman. “It was heartbreaking. A beautiful bird’s agony is something you never forget. The incident inspired us even more to continue our cleanup efforts and to educate people.” 

Thousands of discarded lures and hooks are among dangerous items retrieved by Project Pick Up Fishing Line volunteers.

In their spare time, the volunteers address areas that they say are most abused. Mather Lake in Rancho Cordova, the American River at Watt Avenue, Cameron Park Lake and Willow Creek in Folsom are top trouble spots.

“We come back from these places with grocery bags filled,” Nichols said. “Fishing lines, hooks and lures from the ground or from trees and grasses,” Nichols added. “Honestly, the stuff is all over the place. For many people, it’s invisible. To our eyes, line catches the light like spider webs. Often, we need long grabbers to reach it. Sometimes, divers find line tangled underwater. They help us dispose of it. Fishermen sometimes help us, too. Along with the careless culprits, many responsible people use the river.”

The volunteers keep their harvest as evidence of how pervasive the problem is. They assembled more than 2,000 hooks and sinkers for a recent Mather Lake display. The haul also included dozens of bulging bags of lines. 

Volunteer leader Jann Nichols hauls abandoned line retrieved from Mather Lake in Rancho Cordova.

“Aquatic birds are often drawn to anglers in the hope of a feed,” Nichols noted. “They can swallow a lure or get snagged. If a hook is lodged on their body, feeding and mobility is threatened. Suffering and death often follow.”

“I started this project last year when I saw a young osprey tethered to the nest,” she recalled. “Its parents had brought in a branch entangled with fishing line. The baby was snarled for a week, close to fledging time. I couldn’t sleep for worrying. It took some time for rescuers to access the nest but the baby was saved.”

“Around that time, several cygnets died from line entanglement at Cameron Park Lake,” Nichols continued.  “I decided to do whatever I could to prevent this from happening again. I started picking up line wherever I saw it.”

Nichols was soon joined by friends who wanted to help.

“They’d also seen injured wildlife in situations they could not forget,” Nichols said. “Seeing animal suffering is a powerful motivation.”

The volunteers fund their own activities. Equipment includes gloves, clippers and long-handled retrievers. Sunscreen is another essential.

“It’s hard work but it’s also nice to be out in nature,” Nichols said. “You know you’re helping wildlife and pets have a safer environment.”

Visit Project Pick up Fishing Line on Facebook or visit www.tanglefreewildlife.com.

To report wild animals in need of rescue, contact Wildlife Care Association at 916-965-9453.