With the Legislature concluding work for the year last month, any hope for meaningful statewide standards for wakesports is on hold until 2025 By Michael Engleson, Wisconsin Lakes Executive Director The Wisconsin Legislature concluded its business for this session last month. Despite the introduction of two bills on the subject, no legislation was passed – […]
Weigh in on wakesports, fishing regulations, and more By Wisconsin Lakes staff The Wisconsin Conservation Congress (WCC) and Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will hold open houses across Wisconsin on Monday, April 8 at 6 p.m. to learn about resource management through the annual Fish and Wildlife Spring Hearing process. Additionally, an online opportunity for […]
Register now for the Virtual WI Lakes & Rivers Convention, featuring two streams, plenary panel, and concluding “Confluence” By Wisconsin Lakes staff While registration for the in person Wisconsin Lakes & Rivers Convention, April 10-12, 2024 is now closed (we look forward to seeing all of you who registered!) you can still get in on […]
Register now for the Red Cedar Watershed Conference, March 14, 2024 in Menomonie, WI By Wisconsin Lakes staff If you are interested in how different uses and practices on the land impact water quality, the Red Cedar Watershed Conference might be the event for you. The conference, now in its 12th year, will be held […]
Nominations are due Feb. 1, 2024 for Crew 15 of the Wisconsin Lake Leaders Institute! Guest post by Sara Windjue, Leadership and Capacity Development Specialist, Extension Lakes Program at UW-Stevens Point Call for Nominations for Lake Leaders – Crew 15 Are you interested in gaining skills and increasing your network related to lake management and […]
No hearings yet, but some positive movement on AB655/SB680? Here’s what we know on wakesports legislation in Wisconsin headed into the holiday break By Wisconsin Lakes With Wisconsin legislators mostly leaving the state capitol to be home for the holidays, it seems a good time to take stock of the recent flurry of wakesports related […]
Act 62 Allows Lake District Official Notifications to be Sent by Email By Wisconsin Lakes staff Earlier this month, Governor Evers signed SB85 into law, creating 2023 Act 62, which allows lake protection and rehabilitation districts and county boards to use email as a form of official district notices in certain circumstances. Under Chapter 33 […]
Using standards from the recent Wisconsin Conservation Congress resolutions, Sen. Andre Jacque’s proposal provides a compelling alternative to AB656/SB680 Wisconsin Lakes Supports this Proposal (with the condition noted below) Sen. André Jacque (R-DePere) entered the wakesports fray last week, releasing a proposal that would manage wakesports on Wisconsin waters under terms largely in line with […]
AB656/SB680 fails to provide meaningful standards and prohibits local governments from being stricter, while allowing them to be weaker The bill Wisconsin Lakes reported on in October was formally introduced into the Wisconsin legislature with no changes. LRB-3518 is now AB656 in the Assembly and SB680 in the Senate. Wisconsin Lakes is OPPOSED AB655/SB680 would […]
Understanding the legislative process of the AB656/SB680 As Wisconsin Lakes previously reported, the wakesports bill authored by Sen. Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk) and Rep. Rob Swearingen (R-Rhinelander) was introduced into the Wisconsin Legislature in late November. We’ve received many questions regarding what’s next for the bill in the legislative process. Here’s a primer on where AB656 […]