Damage could be done to the Rainbow Flowage in Oneida County if people drive on the exposed lakebed.
Most years, the Rainbow Flowage is a more than 2-thousand-acre impoundment of the Wisconsin River with fluctuating water levels.
A lack of rain and snow have left much of the lakebed open and dry.
DNR Warden Tim Otto says the barren lakebed has attracted operators of all-terrain vehicles and trucks using it as a travel route.
Otto says a lakebed is a lakebed – with or without the water – and cannot withstand the effects of trucks and ATVs traveling on it.
Otto says enforcement actions are possible, both for violating rules protecting lakebeds and because of damage caused to the resource.
The concern may be seen in other areas as well, as drought conditions persist around the state.
