ACTION ALERT: Boat industry wakeboat bill threatens lakes

RippleEffects

Imagine a Wisconsin where enhanced boat wakes are allowed as near as 200 feet from shore – and where local governments have no power to enact stricter limitations. That is the potential outcome of a bill supported by the boating industry and expected to be introduced in the state legislature in the very near future. The industry’s Wake Responsibly boater education campaign promotes the 200-foot limit, yet scientific studies document that is not nearly enough to prevent shoreline damage from enhanced wakes with several times the energy of wakes from a ski boat.

A couple of years ago the industry promoted a bill with the 200-foot limit in Minnesota, but it failed in that state’s environmentally friendly legislature. There is no assurance Wisconsin’s Senate and Assembly would reject such legislation. And let’s remember that in 2015 our state legislature banned local governments from enacting shoreland zoning rules more protective than statewide minimum standards. Please contact you’re your state legislators to express your concerns about this legislation as a way to help ensure that it is not rushed through without informed discussion from all stakeholders. If (like me) you are a resident of Oneida County, contact:

 If you live elsewhere, contact your senator and representative. In particular, ask your legislators not to co-sign onto any such legislation at this time.

Please share this information with your personal networks.

 

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 33 other subscribers