Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians Enacts an Emergency Wake Boat Ban to Protect Tribal Waters

June 20, 2024

In an effort to help protect their waters, on April 22, 2024 the Tribal Council enacted an emergency rule banning any operation of a wake boat within the exterior boundaries of the Lac du Flambeau Reservation. 

Celeste Hockings, Tribal Natural Resources Director, relates that it is appropriate for boaters to understand the background for the new emergency rule.  Some of the reasons cited by the Tribal Natural Resources Department include the following:

  • More shoreline erosion from the increased energy of wake boat waves.
  • Increased chances of the spread of aquatic invasive species via wake boat ballast systems.
  • Uprooting of wild rice during key life stages.
  • Flooding of loon nests.
  • Impacts on the lake bed, decreasing water clarity and plant abundance, and impacting fish habitat and spawning areas.
  • User conflicts with other lake users.

Boaters on the Manitowish Chain of Lakes should be aware that this wake boat ban applies to all waters within the exterior boundaries of the Lac du Flambeau Reservation, including those portions of Wild Rice Lake that are within those boundaries.

The Lac du Flambeau Band will provide enforcement of this emergency rule (RES# 2(24)) per the Tribal Code of Ordinances.

Boaters and lake users, please respect the desire of the Lac du Flambeau Band of the Chippewa Indians with their efforts to protect these waters.

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