I have ice fished for more than thirty years. Growing up in the Seacoast New Hampshire area, 

most winter weekends were spent ice fishing for smelt on Great Bay with my father. The months leading 

up to the start of smelt fishing season were filled with anticipation and excitement about what the coming 

winter would bring. We wondered if there would be more or fewer shacks this year or if the smelt fishing 

would be as good as last year, but one thing we never wondered was if there would be safe ice to fish on. 

I'll admit that safe ice can't form soon enough for me. If I had my way the lakes would stay 

frozen all year (well, at least a few of them), but I never imagined that I would wonder if I would be able 

to ice fish each season. I can remember seeing trucks on the ice of Great Bay when I was a kid and no one 

thought twice about it. Now, no one would dream of driving a Vehicle on the ice of Great Bay because it 

doesn't freeze thickly enough anymore. Every winter the ice that forms on Great Bay is thinner, making 

the smelt fishing season shorter. The winter of 2012 was the worst I can remember. There was safe ice to 

fish on for about two weeks and then it was gone and never returned, but it didn't seem to matter because 

there were so few smelt to catch — warmer water temperatures are also contributing to the loss of valuable 

smelt habitat, which I will address more fully later. 

As a young adult I gravitated to freshwater ice fishing. At the time I thought I was just drawn to 

the diversity of species that could be caught through the ice in freshwater. While that is true, I later 

realized that it was the dependability of safe ice that drew me to the freshwater lakes and ponds each 

winter. However, I now wonder how long I will have safe fresh water ice to fish on. There are winters 

now where Lakes such as Winnipesaukee don't completely freeze over and if they do it is for only a brief 

period of time. I make my living as an ice fishing guide during the winter months and each season gets 

shorter and less consistent. I know weather isn't something we can control, but it has become more 

extreme and unpredictable than ever. I didn't grow up hearing terms such as El Nino, La Nina, or polar 

vortex, but now they are commonplace terms because of new and changing weather patterns. 

Another change I have witnessed over the past decade due to warm water is the timing and 

duration of certain fishes' spawning. It is the lake being free of ice, the mount of daylight hours, and 

water temperature which trigger white perch and other species to spawn. The white perch usually spawn 

over a two week period, but now the water warms so fast that in some areas of the lake they spawn in one 

day. Warmer water also affects cold water species like lake trout and landlocked salmon. All fish species, 

warm water and cold water, have a preferred water temperature and the rising water temperatures are 

forcing them out of their natural habitats because of depleted oxygen, algae blooms, and other side effects 

of warming trends. 

Carbon emissions are affecting our overall quality of life by posing serious health risks, but the 

emissions also have a negative impact on the success and quality of life of our fish and wildlife, which in 

turn leads to negative economic impacts. If we do not act the problem will only continue to get worse. 

Carbon emissions are a major part of the problem and power plants are a contributor. I support the EPA's 

efforts to reduce carbon emissions through the Clean Power Plan . 

Sincerely, 

Timothy Moore 

196 Concord Way 

Portsmouth, NH 03801