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Posts: 714
Location: Rhinelander, WI | or driving through!
From the Rhinelander Daily News:
COUNTY BOARD BANS TRANSPORT OF AQUATIC WEEDS
by Heather Schaefer - Regional Editor
“Boating enthusiasts beware: If you are caught in Oneida County with aquatic vegetation on your boat or trailer you will be fined.
A divided Oneida County Board of Supervisors voted 11-7 on Tuesday to enact an ordinance banning the transport of all aquatic vegetation within the county’s boundaries.”
Read the rest here.
http://rhinelanderdailynews.com/articles/2008/05/21/news/doc4834412...
Could be the future state wide!
Nail A Pig!
Mike
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Posts: 2037
Location: lansing, il | mike, are you gonna keep your partner under control at the boat ramp inspections this year? |
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Posts: 1168
| They are ticketing elsewhere also, not just in Oneida County. |
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Posts: 26
Location: Bayfield, Wisconsin | Yup, Bayfield County has this oridinance too!!! |
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Posts: 176
Location: Tomahawk, WI | about time |
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Posts: 714
Location: Rhinelander, WI | John, when he is with me I will ensure he is in the truck until the boat is in the water. Then I will make him walk to the boat without interacting with ANYONE!
When he is alone, my guess is he will have to take a seditive before heading to the landing.
I have no problem with this; in fact it will probably really help. My concern is that it be enforced by law enforcement not over zealous volunteers. I plan to talk to the sheriff and/or chief deputy the next time I see them to ensure this will be the case.
I ALWAYS remove every weed I can see from my trailer and boat. But if you load your boat at a landing that is weed choked, which is the case at many Oneida County landings there is a high chance weeds will get caught between the boat and the bunk. I have seen small weed chunks float up after launching my rig, even though it was just inspected and found 100% weed free. I am sure there are some volunteers that would try and get me ticketed for that.
Nail A Pig!
Mike
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Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | I agree with it 1001%, but to me this is another enforcement nightmare.
"My concern is that it be enforced by law enforcement not over zealous volunteers."
With today's economy do you honestly believe that Onieda and Vilas counties are going to hire/contract law enforcement officers to watch and ticket for weed offenses? I hate to say it, but your Lake Association members are going to be it.
Edited by Gander Mt Guide 5/22/2008 9:39 AM
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Location: Lake Tomahawk, WI | I know of people who have been ticketed over the last 2 years in Oneida County, thought this ordinance was already in place. Yes, the pinched weeds aspect (between bunk and boat) has worried me as well. Had a lake association volunteer blow up at me because I had weeds hanging from my bunk. After further inspection he realized it was just strands of carpet from the bunk hanging down 
Unfortunately, most weekend warriors/casual anglers aren't aware of this problem, although I have noticed signs at most landings. They treated the Minocqua chain again this week although I think it's futile. Be sure you inspect your rigs so this problem doesn't spread, although my personal opinion is that every lake with a public launch will have milfoil at some point. Hope I'm wrong.
JS |
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Posts: 714
Location: Rhinelander, WI | The way I understand it:
It has been illegal to launch a boat with aquatic vegetation visible on the trailer or boat for quit awhile. In the last few years WDNR has stepped up enforcement and started issuing tickets. Most likely this is the violation we have been seeing.
This new ordinance is a County ordnance, and can enforced by all local law enforcement. Most likely it will fall on Sheriff Deputies, as they are the legal agents of the county.
From the article:
“Oneida County Corporation Counsel Brian Desmond said the ordinance goes into effect after it is published in the county’s paper of record and that is the mechanism for providing notice of the ban to the public.
He also said that the ban pertains to all aquatic vegetation so deputies will not have to determine whether weeds on a boat are AIS or a harmless plant.”
It does not matter where you are or if you are launching, you can be ticketed if weeds are found on your boat or trailer, any place on a public road, under this ordinance.
From the actual ordnance:
(3) PROHIBITED TRANSPORT OF AQUATIC PLANTS AND INVASIVE ANIMALS.
No person may operate a vehicle or transport any boat, boat trailer, personal watercraft and its associated trailer, canoe, kayak, or boating equipment, fishing equipment, hunting and/or trapping equipment including but not limited to personal floatation devices, nets, anchors, fishing lines, decoys, and waders, from navigable waters onto any roadway open to the public if aquatic plants or invasive animals are attached.
All aquatic plants or invasive animals shall be removed before entering a roadway open to the public or before launching a boat or equipment or trailer in navigable water.
If in the course of removing a boat from water, the temporary existence of a boat and trailer creates a safety hazard if not immediately transported along a public roadway, a person may transport without violation of this ordinance to the first suitable and safe location and there clean and remove any remaining aquatic plants or invasive animals consistent with this ordinance.
(5) CITATION AND ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Any person who violates a provision of this ordinance shall be subject to a forfeiture of not less than $200 and not more than $500 for the first offense and each subsequent offense. Said person shall be also subject to court costs for such violation.
(b) Each violation shall be considered a separate offense.
(c) Legal action may be initiated against a violator by the issuance of a citation pursuant to Sec. 66.0113(1)(a)(2005). Said citation may be issued by a law enforcement officer of Oneida County.
To read the entire thing go hear:
http://www.co.oneida.wi.gov/county/app/docs/oneida/2008051514552646...
Nail A Pig!
Mike
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Posts: 2089
| Welcome to Minnesota ladies and gentlemen. Trailer "cling-ons" will get you a ticket here as well. Steve |
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Posts: 2068
Location: Appleton,WI | I believe I was told from a warden that they hired 10-12 extra wardens for this enforcement only,they want to crack down on it.Im glad Ive seen tons of boats and not fisherman driving down the roads or leaving a ramp with weeds on the axle. |
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| Bigger government, more regulations....not my cup of tea.... |
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Posts: 1270
| What a stupid law!!! I like the idea of not allowing the plants to be transported and there should be a law. AND THERE IS, a state law. Why do we need a local law when there is already a state law?
It reminds me of a town near me that banned feeding of deer in the city limits. The problem is that the state already outlawed deer feeding in the county. More wasting of taxpayers money. |
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Lake Associations will be doing the inspections on local lakes ....paid with Lake association funds, if not volunteer.
'Supervisor Tom Rudolph, a vocal proponent of the ban, said he hopes eventually state lawmakers see fit to enact a statewide prohibition on the transport of aquatic vegetation.
“This is the wave of the future,” he said.'
Could someone post a link to the existing State law mentioned? |
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| Like Reelman, I'm all for this effort to stop the weeds, but there must have been some magic judicial wand that someone somewhere could have waved to grant the County jurisdiction to enforce the existing law. So now we have a law banning something that's already banned by a different law. Brilliant.
I guess if this was the only way to give the county mounties, etc., authority for this......then so be it. |
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Posts: 714
Location: Rhinelander, WI | See the following on the existing State of Wisconsin Laws.
WDNR info web page:
http://dnr.wi.gov/invasives/laws.htm
Actual State Statute:
http://nxt.legis.state.wi.us/nxt/gateway.dll?f=templates&fn=default...
The MAJOR difference with this new county law is it makes TRANSPORT of invasive illegal. The existing law only “requires the removal of aquatic plants and zebra mussels each time a boat is put into state waters.”
Under the new law a person could be ticketed anyplace on a public road not just at the landing for launching with weeds on the boat.
Hope that makes sense.
Nail A Pig!
Mike
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Posts: 714
Location: Rhinelander, WI | I coach baseball with a Oneida County Sheriff Deputy, I asked him tonight how he thought this Law was going to work, and more specifically how it would work with lake the association boat landing monitors. Right away he knew where I was going, he said deputies will not write tickets base on someone’s word alone. However they will come investigate if called.
He said the way it should work is everyone should remove the weeds themselves after the pull the boat out. If the boater misses the weeds or flat out doesn’t check, hopefully the boat landing monitor will tell them, “there are weeds on your trailer, you need to remove them or you could get a ticket” 99% of people will remove them at that point. If they don’t the Sheriffs Department could be called, then the closest officer may come investigate or look for the vehicle on the road, if they have the time. The only way a ticket will be written is if the officer finds the weeds on a trailer.
The goal is to stop transport of weeds hopefully this law will work.
Last year Oneida County wrote one ticket for illegally launching a boat with weeds on it. The boater (not a fisherman) refused to remove the weeds from their trailer when they were told they were there by a boat landing monitor. The monitor called the sheriff’s department, they happened to have an officer near by he came and investigated and found the trailer still with weeds hanging off of it, the boat had just been launched. We the boater was asked why he didn’t remove the weeds he was still defiant, even to the officer so he got the ticket.
I am sure there are going to be jerks on both sides of this issue, we just need to do the best we can and work together.
Nail A Pig!
Mike
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Posts: 1996
Location: Pelican Lake/Three Lakes Chain | BenR - 5/22/2008 10:24 PM
Bigger government, more regulations....not my cup of tea....
I commend the idea behind this but I wholeheartedly agree with Ben. |
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Posts: 691
Location: nationwide | Let me run this scenario by you for opinions. I only fish the chippewa flowage and launch and land daily keeping my boat at our trailer when not fishing. So let's say I land the boat and the guy at the landing says I have to remove a weed from the trailer. I tell the person I only fish the flowage so if there is a weed on the trailer it came from the flowage to start with. I don't remove the weed, he calls the sheriff's department and they show up. I explain my situation about only fishing the flowage, and the reason for the rule is to stop the spread from lake to lake, so do I get a ticket or not, and if I do get a ticket what are the chances of me winning this in court when I can produce affidavits from people verifying I only fish the flowage?
Of course if one of the watchdogs at the landing tells me to remove a weed I would before any of this would happen.
Corey Meyer |
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| All good intentions, but the Lake Association landing workers need to be trained! I purposely fished lakes this weekend that already have milfoil in them so I could avoid the landing people.
I'm all for protecting lakes, but everytime I pull up to a landing I get asked "have you ever heard of Eurasion Milfoil?" If you look at my boat and trailer you would swear to god that I am sponsored by "Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers" I have more stickers on my boat about weeds than I do musky fishing! I find myself lying at boat landing about where I fished last for fear of reprocussions!
Anyway, I've had bad experiences and could go on forever, but I'm going fishing......
Edited by Oneida Esox 5/29/2008 12:58 PM
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Posts: 714
Location: Rhinelander, WI | Cory, if you are launching your boat with weeds on the trailer you can be fined, doesn’t matter if when you last pulled your boat out it was from the same landing. They don’t know you, therefore the officers enforcing the laws can only go by what is written in the statutes. The next boater could tell the same story and be lying through his or her teeth.
For example if you have open beer in your truck and are stopped you will be ticketed for open intoxicant in the vehicle, even if 3 people in the vehicle swear up and down that you didn’t take a sip. “Honest officer we where just transporting the bottles to the next picnic” doesn’t cut it. Hope that makes sense.
Nail A Pig!
Mike
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