Lake Nancy decontamination station

County Watercraft Decontamination Ordinances

In January 2022, Sawyer County passed a watercraft decontamination ordinance similar to the one we have in Washburn County. There are now a total of six counties in northwest Wisconsin (Washburn, Burnett, Polk, Bayfield, Barron and Sawyer) with ordinances requiring boaters to use decontamination stations at landings where they exist.  Burnett and Washburn Counties were the first,…

Shoreland Zoning Summary

As previously reported, dramatic changes have been made to shoreland zoning in the past year.  The most sweeping of the changes is the elimination of counties’ rights to adopt local shoreland ordinances stronger than the DNR’s minimum standards. Click here to read a summary of those changes prepared by Wisconsin Lakes association. Information on these…

Shoreland Zoning Legislation

As previously reported, WCLRA and the Washburn County Board of Supervisors are part of a movement across Wisconsin calling for the repeal of those provisions in the 2015 budget bill (Act 55) that significantly altered shoreland zoning in Wisconsin.  The most sweeping of the changes is the elimination of counties’ rights to adopt local shoreland ordinances…