For now, local governments or the state legislature may be the best places to address concerns about the impact of wake boats on water bodies.
The topic received a lot of attention before the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board at its most recent meeting.
Michelle Nault, Lakes and Rivers Section Manager for the DNR, summarized research out of Minnesota, which showed there can be adverse effects to lake bottoms and shorelines.
“I think it is important to keep in mind that that no two lakes are the same, and factors such as lake size, sediment composition, and lake bathymetry, lake depth, can influence wave-wake characteristics and potential ecological impacts. So I think the ability to retain local control is important to ensure that each lake can pursue the most appropriate protections for the specific water body characteristics and use,” said Nault.
Deputy DNR Secretary Steven Little noted while citizens keep raising concerns about wake boats to the Natural Resources Board, the legislature would be the better venue.
“I sense the frustration, but I really want to leave with the folks here and the public, that the efforts that are being garnered to bring this issue to the board month after month, can be better directed, focusing those efforts on the legislature,” said Little.
Natural Resources Board Chair Bill Smith said concerns go beyond wake boats.
“We can't solve this problem completely by just focusing on wake boats. That there's other equipment out there other than wake boats that are also capable of producing artificially enhanced large wake. And as communities look at that, they may want to look at it more broadly in terms of how these ordinances are crafted,” said Smith.
He said the impacts of large, heavily loaded boats and bigger boats on smaller, sensitive lakes are also concerns.
