Lake advocates flag wakeboard boats as shoreline, AIS and sediment risks; call for science‑based training and local rules
October 25, 2024 | Subcommittee on Minnesota Water Policy (SMWP, Departments, Joint, Committees, Legislative, Minnesota
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On AIS funding, Forster said the current three‑year boat surcharge supports local AIS management grants but funding is unstable from year to year. Advocates are seeking a higher, steadier surcharge and estimate that lake associations face rising, sometimes unsustainable management costs. Forster said the group will advocate a $25 three‑year registration surcharge (up from the current $10.60) to support long‑term AIS prevention and local management grants.
On wakeboard/wake‑surf boats, Forster summarized initial science from the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory and DNR‑funded studies: specialized wake boats create wakes much larger than conventional runabouts and can produce strong propeller thrust that resuspends sediments and damages shallow aquatic vegetation. A lab study cited by Forster found wakes from enhanced wakecraft must travel roughly 500 feet to dissipate to the energy of a typical runabout’s wake; prop thrust and ballast tanks increase the risk these craft pose for aquatic invasive species transport because ballast tanks retain residual water and organisms.
"They are a significant transporter of aquatic invasive species," Forster said, summarizing DNR findings on ballast retention and veliger survival. He said the advocates' near‑term solution is a science‑based operating and certification program — including buffer distances from shore (roughly 500 feet) and minimum depths (about 20 feet) — plus education, AIS prevention measures and local ordinance options where warranted. He noted the DNR is drafting training modules and that local ordinances (approved by DNR) are another enforcement path; Wisconsin has seen more than 30 local ordinances regulating wakeboats.
Ending: Forster encouraged the committee to support steady AIS grant funding, adopt science‑based operating guidance, and consider local ordinance tools as needed; no new law was adopted at the meeting.
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