November 2025: Enahnced Wake Information
Enhanced Wake Information
A large coalition of conservation organizations in Wisconsin has been working to help educate citizens about problems caused by enhanced wakes on lakes and to help local organizations and interested Towns establish appropriate restrictions on the creation of enhanced wakes. The Town of Hazelhurst has recently enacted two ordinances prohibiting enhanced wakes (but not the boats that create them). One covers lakes wholly within the town and the other covers three lakes shared with the towns of Cassian and Lake Tomahawk. Those ordinances can be found at the Town website at the bottom right of the page.
http://www.hazelwi.net/pg/towninfo
On November 11, 2025, the Town Board voted unanimously to submit a similar draft ordinance for Lake Katherine to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), along with the required Condition Report. This action initiates the process of review, public input, a formal public hearing, and an eventual vote on an ordinance. There is no set schedule for the steps at this time, but they will likely occur over the winter and spring months.
As the Town Board moves through this process, it is important for Lake Katherine property owners and associated family members to have easy access to information regarding the movement to establish such restrictions in Wisconsin and other states, independent scientific peer-reviewed studies on the effects of enhanced wakes, the status of what is being discussed and/or proposed on this topic at the state level, and other points of view presented largely by the water sports industry and related advocacy organizations.
We do not intend to provide an exhaustive list of organizations and web sites on this topic. There is substantial information from Wisconsin as well as many other states that are wrestling with this issue. The following list is a good starting place for ongoing self-education on the topic. We encourage you to conduct your own search for information beyond them as your time and interest allow.
Wisconsin Lakes - https://wisconsinlakes.org/will-your-lake-organization-join-the-call/
Wisconsin’s Green Fire - https://wigreenfire.org/wake-boat-coalition-focus-on-local-control/
Last Wilderness Alliance - https://lastwildernessalliance.org/wake-surfing-resources-v1
Literature review from Michigan DNR - https://mymlsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Fisheries-Report-37-Wake-Boat-Study-Official-Version-Released-on-7.28.2023.pdf
Other entities that advocate for recreational water sports including those that support enhanced wakes have web sites, too.
Water Sports Industry Association - https://www.wsia.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/WSIA_draft_report_Rev_II.pdf
Wisconsin Watersports Coalition - https://www.wwcoalition.org/
