TOWN OF HUNTER
SAWYER COUNTY WISCONSIN
BOATING & SLOW-N0-WAKE AREAS
ORDINANCE NO. 2026-03
AMENDMENT TO ORDINANCE NO. 2023-03
A SOLE ORDINANCE TO REGULATE WATER TRAFFIC, BOATING AND WATER SPORTS UPON THE WATERS OF THE CHIPPEWA FLOWAGE AND PRESCRIBING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS THERE OF:
The Town Board of the Town of Hunter do ordain as follows:
SECTION 1 – INTENT:
The intent of this ordinance is to provide safe and healthful conditions for the enjoyment of aquatic recreation consistent with public needs and the capability of the water resource.
SECTION 2 – APPLICABILITY AND ENFORCEMENT:
(a) The provisions of this ordinance shall apply to the waters of the Chippewa Flowage within the jurisdiction of the Town of Hunter.
(b) The provisions of this ordinance shall be enforced by the officers of the Town of Hunter, the Water Safety Patrol Unit of Sawyer County, Sheriff’s Department and other authorized officers.
SECTION 3 – STATE BOATING & SAFETY LAWS ADOPTED:
State boating laws as found in 30.50 to 30.71 of the Wisconsin Statutes, are adopted by reference.
Notably:
30.66(1) Speed to be reasonable and prudent. No person shall operate a motorboat at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions and having regard for the actual and potential hazards then existing. The speed of a motorboat shall be so controlled as to avoid colliding with any object lawfully in or on the water or with any person, boat or other conveyance in or on the water in compliance with legal requirements and exercising due care.
30.66(2) Fixed limits. In addition to complying with sub. (1), no person may operate a motorboat at a speed in excess of the posted notice as established by regulatory markers.
30.66(3)(a) No person may operate a motorboat within 100 feet of any dock, raft, pier, or buoyed restricted area on any lake at a speed in excess of slow-no-wake.
30.66(3)(ag)1. Except as provided in subd. 2., no person may operate a motorboat, other than a personal watercraft, at a speed in excess of slow-no-wake within 100 feet of the shoreline of any lake.
30.66(3)(ar) No person may operate a personal watercraft at a speed in excess of slow-no-wake within 200 feet of the shoreline of any lake.
SECTION 4 – DEFENITIONS:
- (a) Aid to Navigation or Regulatory Markers as described in Wisconsin Statutes 30.74(2)(a)
- (b) “Buoy” is any device designed to float which is anchored in the water and which is used to convey a message.
- (c) “Lake”, for the purpose of s. 30.66, Stats., means a lake, reservoir, flowage or millpond, or portion thereof, that is listed by the department in the most current version of Wisconsin Lakes, Publ-FH-800, or any other body of water determined by the department to be a lake consistent with the test established in Ne-pee-nauk Club v. Wilson, 96 Wis. 290 (1897), with the exception of the Kilbourn flowage in Juneau and Adams counties.
- (d) “Slow-no-wake” means that speed at which a boat moves as slow as possible while still maintaining steerage control.
- (e) Whenever used in this ordinance, the term “Wisconsin Statutes” shall mean the Wisconsin Statutes of 2011 and subsequent amendments.
SECTION 5 – ADDITION – TRAFFIC RULES:
In addition to the traffic rules in S 30.65 of the Wisconsin Statutes adopted in SECTION 3 of this ordinance, the following rules shall apply to boats using waters covered by this ordinance.
- (a) No person shall operate any boat contrary to any legally placed buoys.
SECTION 6 – REGULATORY MARKERS:
Buoys will be placed to provide the public with the provisions of this Section as follows:
- (a) CONTROLLED AREA – HAZARD BUOYS:
- (1) Attached to anchor located near the Treeland Resort with GPS location of Buoy #1 = N45 58.582 W91 12.040
- (2) Attached to eye bolt anchor located in the dike at the southeast end of the Winter dam; thence at a right angle northerly 150 feet; thence westerly at a right angle 155 feet; thence southerly at a right angle 150 feet to eye bolt anchor located in the dike at the southwest end of the Winter dam.
Chippewa Reservoir Dam – Hazard Markers and Line Between:
Hazard Mark #1 = N45 53.350 W91 04.720
Hazard Mark #2 = N45 53.332 W91 04.605
- (b) CONTROLLED AREA – SWIM AREAS:
- (1) Boats are prohibited in the designated swim area as marked by two regulatory buoys and float ropes:
Lake Chippewa Campground – Swim Area GPS Location:
Buoy #1 = N45 56.166 W91 11.293
Buoy #2 = N45 56.153 W91 11.301
- (c) CONTROLLED AREA – SLOW-NO-WAKE ZONES:
No person shall operate a boat faster than slow-no-wake in these designated waters of the Chippewa Flowage at any time:
- (1) CC Bridge from The Landing to Lake Chippewa Campground. As mapped and marked with buoys located at GPS locations:
Five west locations: #1 = N45 55.920 W91 11.478
#2 = N45 55.903 W91 11.467
#3 = N45 55.890 W91 11.455
#4 = N45 55.872 W091 11.439
#5 = N45 55.858 W091 11.424
Four east locations: #4 = N45 55.930 W91 11.194
#5 = N45 55.957 W91 11.204
#6 = N45 55.981 W91 11.219
#7 = N45 56.043 W91 11.237
- (2) Lake Chippewa Temporary – Annually from 3rd Friday, Saturday and Sunday of May for the Fishing has no Boundaries event. As mapped and marked with buoys located at GPS locations:
Buoy #1 = N45 56.141 W91 11.276
Buoy #2 = N45 56.105 W91 11.254
Buoy #3 = N45 56.079 W91 11.247
- (3) Slivers Point Channel – Delong’s Channel starting at Slivers Point and extending north to bay. As mapped and marked with buoys located at GPS locations:
Buoy #1 = N45 56.891 W91 11.207
Buoy #2 = N45 57.096 W91 11.492
- (4) Treeland Resort Bay. As mapped and marked with buoys located at GPS locations:
Buoy #A = N45 58.637 W91 11.872
Buoy #B = N45 58.651 W91 11.903
- (5) Hay Creek from Landing past Dun Rovin Point. As mapped and marked with buoys located at GPS locations:
Buoy #1 = N45 58.716 W91 10.490
Buoy #2 = N45 58.718 W91 10.462
Buoy #3 = N45 58.266 W91 09.992
Buoy #4 = N45 58.294 W91 09.976
- (6) Mittlestadt Resort between Island and Shore. As mapped and marked with buoys located at GPS locations:
Buoy #1 = N45 56.807 W91 08.485
Buoy #2 = N45 56.775 W91 08.411
- (7) Runge – Bay north of Johnson Road between buoys and west shore. As mapped and marked with buoys located at GPS locations:
Buoy #1 = N45 57.249 W91 08.584
Buoy #2 = N45 57.219 W91 08.625
Buoy #3 = N45 57.193 W91 08.661
- (8) West Fork from Deer Run to north of Hwy B. As mapped and marked with buoys located at GPS locations:
Buoys at Deer Run #1 = N45 57.705 W91 07.996
#2 = N45 57.695 W91 07.980
#3 = N45 57.686 W91 07.967
Hwy B Buoys #1 = N45 57.859 W91 07.387
#2 = N45 57.881 W91 07.354
#3 = N45 57.901 W91 07.334
- (9) Channel to Pokegama Lake. As mapped and marked with buoys located at GPS locations:
Buoy #1 = N45 54.750 W91 09.469
Buoy #2 = N45 54.660 W91 09.678
- (10) Fletcher Bay – marked with slow-no-wake at all entrances to bay. As mapped and marked with buoys located at GPS locations:
Buoy #1 = N45 54.623 W91 09.991
Buoy #2 = N45 54.774 W91 10.220
Buoy #3 = N45 54.779 W91 10.340
- (11) Tiger Musky Bay – marked with slow-no-wake at both entrances to bay. As mapped and marked with buoys located at GPS locations:
Buoy #1 = N45 54.600 W91 14.550
Buoy #2 = N45 54.840 W91 14.752
- (12) Musky Bay – marked with slow-no-wake at the confluence of the North Fork of the Chief River of the Chippewa Flowage. Slow-no-wake through the entire channel beginning with Buoy #1. As mapped and marked with buoys located at GPS locations:
Buoy#1 = 45.978051, -91.2102255
Buoy#2 = 45-979962, -91.545850
- (13) Chief Creek Narrow Channel on the far southeastern part of Chief Lake of the Chippewa Flowage. Slow-no-wake through the entire channel beginning with Buoy #1 and ending with Buoy #2. As mapped and marked with buoys locate at GPS Locations:
Buoy #1 = N45.89164, W91.28479
Buoy #2 = N45.89041, W91.28449
- (d) STANDARD MARKS:
- (1) All markers so placed will be in compliance with regulations of the Department of Natural Resources.
- (2) Duty, the Town of Hunter to ensure that there shall be placed and maintain suitable regulatory markers and signs in such waters as shall be appropriate to advise the public of the provisions of this chapter.
(e) INTERFERENCE WITH MARKER PROHIBITED:
No person shall without authority remove, damage, destroy, moor or attach any watercraft to any buoy, beacon or marker placed in the waters of the flowage by the authority of the United States, State, County, Town, Village or by any private person pursuant to the provisions of this ordinance.
SECTION 7 – POSTING REQUIREMENTS:
The Town of Hunter shall place and maintain a synopsis of this ordinance at all public access points within the jurisdiction of the Town of Hunter pursuant to the requirements of NR 5.15 Wis. Admin. Code.
SECTION 8 – PENALTIES:
Wisconsin state boating penalties as found in Wis. Statutes 30.80, and deposits as established in the Uniform Deposit and Bail Schedule established by the Wisconsin Judicial Conference, are hereby adopted by reference and all references to fines amended to forfeitures and all references to imprisonment deleted.
SECTION 9 – SEVERABILITY:
The provisions of this Ordinance shall be deemed severable and it is expressly declared that the Town Board would have passed the other provisions of this ordinance irrespective of whether or not one or more provisions may be declared invalid. If any provision of this ordinance of the application to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the remainder of the ordinance and the application of such provisions to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected.
SECTION 10 EFFECTIVE DATE:
This Ordinance shall be effective upon passage, publication and posting as provided by law and shall repeal and replace all previous boating ordinances heretofore enacted by the Town of Hunter for the waters of the Chippewa Flowage.
The foregoing draft ordinance was adopted at a regular meeting of the town Board of The Town of Hunter on the 8th day of July, 2026.
_______________________________________
Jon M. LeBlanc, Chair
_______________________________________
Barbara A. Czarnecki, Supervisor
_______________________________________
Kyle L. Cummings, Supervisor
Attest:
_______________________________________
Patricia R Swaffield, Clerk