Environment

Jeff Meessmann on wake boats and invasive species in Lakes

Last Wilderness Alliance board member Jeff Meessmann discusses prioritizing the regulation of wake boats at a local level in Wisconsin to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species between lakes.

By Murv Seymour | Here & Now

September 11, 2025

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Jeff Meessmann on regulation of wake boats and the spread of aquatic invasive species.


Jeff Meessmann:
You have to think of it this way. Number one, you need to do something to fix the aquatic invasive species issue. Otherwise, you're gonna have every lake infested with these invasive species, which there's no remediation. Number two, the lake has to be big enough. Number three, it has to be deep enough. And number four, it has to be far enough away from shore that you can do this activity. I don't see — I hear there's state legislation coming, but they totally ignore aquatic invasive species. Everybody is so fixated on depth and distance. Let's look at the whole picture. Let's look at aquatic invasive species, get that problem solved first, then let's start talking about the size of the lake, the depth and the distance. But above all else, preserve local control. Local control has been a mainstay of Wisconsinites for a long time, and we don't want that activity compromised in any way.

Murv Seymour:
Yeah, and is there a depth-distance ratio that works for you?

Jeff Meessmann:
There is, and there's a citizen resolution out there, again, through the Wisconsin Conservation Congress that received 75% approval by Wisconsinites. They were talking about 1,500 acres, 700 feet from shore and 20 feet deep. I would propose 1,500 acres, 700 feet from shore and 30 feet deep based on these new studies. But I think that would be reasonable. But again, above all else, fix the aquatic invasive species problem. So until you do that — and this is a boating industry created problem — they need to sign up and fix it. I don't think our taxpayers should be forced to pay for cleaning systems and cleaning stations to clean a small number of boats.

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