Wisconsin jumps on the Wakesurfing ban/restrictions

[swatguy]

Add another state making the movement.

[GMLIII]

Don’t know if it will help the Wisconsin cause but in Virginia after we were successful with the No Wakesurf ban area in 2022 , now there is an education task force on wakesurfing for the upcoming season . Work in progress but we will see what happens . See Facebook post, SML Wakeboarding/Wakesurfing below.


TLAC Update: the new Wake Education Task Force (WETF) led by Josh McClure and Joy Christine Manning presented an educational campaign plan to TLAC last night. Josh and Joy did a fantastic job and the TLAC board was very complimentary of the efforts of WETF.

The positives: TLAC voted to keep the moratorium on new no-wakesurf zone applications in place indefinitely. The current application has been denied by DWR and TLAC doesn't foresee any changes on that specific zone request.

TLAC asked about measurements of success and an update at the end of this season on how things went.

Something to pay attention to going forward is a seemingly increasing number of no wake zone applications being put forth and considered as well as an evaluation of the current criteria necessary for a no wake zone.

[MN Ryan]

1500 acres? That would outlaw wakesurfing on a majority of northwoods lakes. That would leave many, many lakeshore/boat owners with very expensive boats that they cannot use.

[fsts2k]

Only thing wrong with this is that it is only for lakes 1500 acres and smaller...

[Nautiquehunter]

Good the only one that enjoys wake surfing is the surfer . Every else has to put up with it .

[bturner]

There's always someone that ruins it for the rest and this is the result. I'm sure we all have our stories of the stupid things people will do (just look at the other thread today of the kids swamping their boat) but at the end of the day this is how people will respond. In addition to wake we're seeing more lake associations going after noise ordinances as well. Nothing like some x rated rap being blasted at 7am to rile up the troops.

I'm truly amazed how inconsiderate and self important more boaters have become. And it's not just the power boaters. We've had paddleboarders and kayakers pull some bonehead moves as well while getting in slalom runs in our back bay. They see us back there yet decide they need to use that section of the lake and cross or sit in our path. We were told there's a group of them that do this intentionally as part of a "green" agenda. Is this true? I have no clue and would hope not but if they're willing to ban gas stoves how long do you think it will be before they go after boating? I guess its best to not let yourself become one of these boaters on either side and enjoy while you can.

[Cadesun]

Good the only one that enjoys wake surfing is the surfer . Every else has to put up with it .

And do you think the boaters in non-motorized craft enjoy your wake and engine noise either? Someone is entitled!

In seriousness, there is a survey put out by the WI DNR you can fill out to voice your opinion. Not sure on posting rules here but it is easy to Google.

[Nautiquehunter]

Quote removed by Admin for not following the Guidelines for Quoting Previous Posts in a Thread.

I have respect for all . Non motorized craft generally stay in the no wake areas . If they venture into the main channel its on them if they want to risk the big water.

[North Woody]

Just heard from my sister in law who is President of our Lake Association of our small, 500 acre lake in Northern Wisconsin who also owns a GS22 and wake surfs with their family. This Wisconsin effort appears to be really picking up steam that centers around banning wakesurfing on lakes under 1,500 acres and 700 feet offshore. There appears to be a lot of anti-wake surfing sentiment out there and as written, Wisconsin legislative bill LRB 5069/1 would prohibit the operation of a "motorboat causing a hazardous wake" on a lake smaller than 1,500 acres.

Personally, I have no problem with sensible regulations that allows surfers to peacefully coexist with those who are not happy with it, but jumping right to an outright ban seems pretty excessive! Any idea what the latest status of this bill is and what the big boat manufacturers (Natique, MasterCraft, Supra, etc.) are doing to push back against this?

[Cosmo]

The really disappointing part is that what is needed is wave responsibility. A large SeaRay can make a 3' wave when loaded with the Fam and running around 10 knots. They just don't have a person behind the boat. If people would simply wake responsibly, this would be a non-issue. Plenty of tubers make a large wake, we're not banning tubing.

[SilentSeven]

A large SeaRay can make a 3' wave when loaded with the Fam and running around 10 knots. They just don't have a person behind the boat. If people would simply wake responsibly, this would be a non-issue. Plenty of tubers make a large wake, we're not banning tubing.

I respectfully disagree. These situations are in no way equal to highly engineered surf rigs that onboard a ton of water producing highly amplified waves with riders groups running up and down the lake for hours.

I think there is a place for surf rigs and surfing should be allowed [with some smart and reasonable rules]. But IMO arguments like this hurt the 'no regulation cause' as....can I say it? ... they hold no water?

[North Woody]

Well, it looks like we’re safe for at least another summer of surfing in Wisconsin. The enhanced wake bill did not proceed with enough support to get to a hearing in the Wisconsin legislature and is not being moved forward for 2024. That said, there is no way that this is the end of it, as I suspect the activists will regroup and double down for the next legislative session.

I am reaching out to our local Nautique dealer (The Boat House in Three Lakes, WI, formerly Water Craft Sales) to ask them to ramp up their pro-wake surf lobbying efforts/education/charm offensive efforts so they can provide more of an industry voice along with other dealers (Master Craft, Supra, Tige, etc.) in the state. Fingers crossed we get to a better place than the proposed 1,500 acre lake size ban, but in the meantime we all need to be on our best behavior and surf responsibly wherever we are to try to get folks comfortable that we call coexist on the same lake!

[SkiFence]

The situation in Wisconsin is not that cut and dry. While no statewide rule has passed, Wisconsin allows local governmental units to regulate lakes within their boundaries. That being the case, many towns in Vilas and Oneida counties have passed "Enhanced Wake" ordnances this spring, which ban or restrict artificially creating large wakes. At least one Indian Reservation has banned "wake boats" on any lakes within their boundary.

[Kmayotte]

Similar story for New Hampshire. Every bill failed (3 from environmental groups, 1 from WSIA and Marine Trades). Even the compromise bill failed due to amendments pushed by the house but not agreed on by the senate so they killed it.

My guess is we do this all again next year. WSIA and Marine trades seems willing to play ball, but environmental groups won't go less than 300-500ft set back and other stipulations on depth etc. that will by default ban wake activities on a lot of NH lakes.

[Jbertram1245]

Education is a great first step, but from what we see on our lake in northern Wisconsin there is always a group of property owners that express extreme displeasure doing any water sports behind a wake boat. Our lake may be extremely biased given the president of the Wisconsin Lakes Association is a resident which is another story within itself. Anytime he is on the water he will zig-zag his pontoon in front of wake boats to ruin the water and make them stop or veer out of his way. And this mostly occurs at the best hours of the day for calm water wakeboarding. There are only 10 wake boats on the 450-acre lake and all wake activities are never anywhere near 200ft from shore, always as central to the body of water as possible, usually 400+ feet. We try to be as respectful as possible but there is always a few who will never be pleased. It makes me wary that this restrictive of legislation is even being considered given it would eliminate wake surfing and enhanced wakes on virtually every lake in Wisconsin. Like others in the thread discussed I wish the manufacturers and dealers especially the Boat House in Wisconsin were more open about the efforts to protect these sports on Wisconsin lakes. It seems as if the Wisconsin Lakes Association is using any angle possible to ban the sport. In their latest presentation to the Wisconsin DNR they referenced the owner's manuals of Malibu and Mastercraft, citing that these ballasted boats are impossible to completely drain, leaving the possibility for invasive species to be present if the boat is moved from lake to lake. I really hope the manufacturers do something to help step in. The movement against these boats is gaining traction and I believe if there isn’t any pushback soon the consequences for the sport may be irreversible in Wisconsin.