GREEN LAKE (NBC 26) — In Green Lake power loading, using your engine to drive your boat onto the trailer could become a costly habit. A new county ordinance aims to protect the shoreline.
County boat landings have been damaged by boaters doing the technique called power loading, according to the Green Lake County Sheriff's office.
Green Lake conservationist Derek Kavanaugh says the practice is not uncommon for some. But it does a lot of damage.
"It's kind of been a discouraged practice among boaters for years," Kavanaugh said.
Kavanaugh says it's hard to keep up with the damage being done to the landings.
"The damage occurs pretty quickly, Kavanaugh said. "But county infrastructure is not replaced quickly."
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Kavanaugh stated that just one ramp by itself would cost up to $20,000 or $50,000 dollars per ramp to fix.
"Last year we had to hire an excavator to go and clean off a couple of feet of sand off the tops of the ramps that were too shallow to launch boats anymore," Kavanaugh said.
Green Lake Association CEO Stephanie Prellwitz says power loading also has environmental impacts.
"It causes a lot of erosion, that erosion is bad for water quality," Prellwizt said. "But it's also bad for fish, all of that churned up sediment can clog up gills and bury fish eggs."
Green Lake County Chief Deputy Matthew Vande Kolk says that there is a cost for breaking the ordinance.
"There is a $50 dollar fine that can be imposed; we will essentially be issuing a parking ticket."
Vande Kolk says the goal is not to hand out tickets but to sustain landings.
"We don't want to write any citations if we don't have to. Vande Kolk said. "We would like everyone to adhere to the ordinance and maintain the integrity of our launches."
The sheriff's office also says it hopes the ordinance will protect landings for years to come.
