October 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. As the Town of Hazelhurst takes action to establish local ordinances for lakes within the township and for lakes shared with an adjacent town regarding restrictions on creating “enhanced wakes”, it is important for the members of the Lake Katherine Association to have easy access to information regarding the movement to establish such restrictions in Wisconsin and other states, scientific peer-reviewed studies on the effects of enhanced wakes, and the status of what is being discussed and/or proposed on this topic at the state level.
Several organizations from the coalition have developed informational web pages where such information can be easily accessed.
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
The Water Sports Industry Association has also developed information on enhanced wakes and posted it to their web site - https://wsia.net/
https://www.wsia.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/WSIA_draft_report_Rev_II.pdf
This information (and a critique of it (https://lastwildernessalliance.org/debunking-wake-sports)) is worth perusing as well so that you have a clear picture of the issue and the tension points between the differing opinions of what is at play.
