Recreational boating community backs Minnesota wakesurfing setback bill
Last week, bipartisan legislation was introduced in the Minnesota House of Representatives (HF 3770) and State Senate (SF 3624) to establish a 200-foot setback for wakesurfing in the state of Minnesota. According to NMMA, this legislation is an important example of the boating industry coming together in support of a practical policy for communities, homeowners and boaters, alike.
HF 3770 and SF 3624 would put in place a 200-foot setback from shoreline and structures for all wake surfing activities in Minnesota. Representatives from the recreational boating community have supported the legislation because it’s “clear, consistent, and effective”:
- Clear: 200 feet is the length of a hockey rink and is easily identifiable to boaters and enforcement officers on the water.
- Consistent: the proposed legislation is consistent with existing PWC statutes and will ensure equal expectations for all enjoying Minnesota’s waterways.
- Effective: a leading wake scientist determined that a 200-foot setback prevents wakes from having a consequential impact on shorelines and structures.
This 200 feet is not enough it needs to be 400 at minimum.
These people who run these boats don’t care about conservation and the boat dealers who are funding this don’t care also. It all comes down to doing the right thing and banning wake boats on lakes smaller then 400 acres.
This says that 200 feet is easily identifiable to boaters, but is it really? Seems more of a guesstimate to me. I don’t think there are any easy answers to the wakesurfing issue.
It is good to see that someone is doing studies on this though. If there is a wake scientist that figured out that 200 feet away renders a wake powerless to negatively impact shorelines and docks, then that’s a step in the right direction.
This is a complex issue that will take some work to figure out.