Every year, people drown and freeze to death falling through thin ice while walking, snowmobiling or driving on our nation's lakes, rivers and wetlands in the winter. NOAA does have a National Ice Center but it only forecasts lake and sea ice conditions for the Great Lakes and ocean areas; not interior lakes. NOAA does have a National Snow Mapping program (NOHRSC) but it only looks at snow cover, not ice cover, movement or thickness. Some European countries have been doing this for years. Why not the U.S.? This is important not only for ice fisherman but for Science as well...such as measuring ice thickness change over time related to climate change.



