This Weekend's DNR Patrols

gary_in_neenah

gary_in_neenah

Super Moderator
Staff member
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is urging snowmobile operators to stay sober as more conservation wardens will patrol the trails starting Friday.

A special enforcement weekend comes as the agency reports six deaths related to snowmobile riding already this year.

The DNR’s Safe Sled Enforcement will have wardens watching for operators who may be impaired or causing safety problems to themselves or others.

Wardens will also share snowmobile safety tips with riders they come across.

The DNR urges all operators to wait and drink alcoholic beverages when they get home for the day.

Safe Sled Enforcement runs through Sunday.
 
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ohiosledder

Active member
I'm all for the extra enforcement efforts. Aside from obvious safety aspect, the behaviors that I keep reading about on various FB pages are giving us all a bad name, and most likely not committed by sober people. The recent vandalism at Lakenenland in Marquette is an example. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a teetotaler, but save the drinkin' for cabin time. I see these guys with brand new sleds driving from bar to bar, sometimes spending hours at a time at one stop. It makes no sense to spend all that money on a new sled and all those hours trailering just to waste it in a bar. Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now.
 
indy_500

indy_500

Well-known member
ohiosledder said:
I'm all for the extra enforcement efforts. Aside from obvious safety aspect, the behaviors that I keep reading about on various FB pages are giving us all a bad name, and most likely not committed by sober people. The recent vandalism at Lakenenland in Marquette is an example. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a teetotaler, but save the drinkin' for cabin time. I see these guys with brand new sleds driving from bar to bar, sometimes spending hours at a time at one stop. It makes no sense to spend all that money on a new sled and all those hours trailering just to waste it in a bar. Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now.
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I hear ya, I’m in the same boat. Just shake my head at so many guys that spend more time in the bar than on the sled. I’m all for the increased enforcement for safety reasons. No issues with guys who have a beer or two with lunch or dinner on sled, but drinking a 6 pack and hopping on a sled is a terrible recipe.

What I’m not a fan of, is when they set up shop in the middle of the woods in the absolute middle of nowhere, and find the most useless stop sign they can find, and try to nab people for rolling thru.

Crack down on the alcohol issues, and 75% of accidents will disappear.
 
SHOOT2KILL

SHOOT2KILL

Active member

Drunkest State in America​

Top Ranking​

Wisconsin is recognized as the drunkest state in America. Approximately 24.2% of its adult population engages in excessive drinking, which is significantly higher than the national average of 19%.
 
favoritos

favoritos

Well-known member
indy_500 said:
I hear ya, I’m in the same boat. Just shake my head at so many guys that spend more time in the bar than on the sled. I’m all for the increased enforcement for safety reasons. No issues with guys who have a beer or two with lunch or dinner on sled, but drinking a 6 pack and hopping on a sled is a terrible recipe.

What I’m not a fan of, is when they set up shop in the middle of the woods in the absolute middle of nowhere, and find the most useless stop sign they can find, and try to nab people for rolling thru.

Crack down on the alcohol issues, and 75% of accidents will disappear.
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A lot of honest wisdom in that post.

I'll add to the part about those useless stop signs. Too many with no traffic makes people numb to stopping. I know it's tempting as all get out after so many.
As far as nabbing people. There is a stop sign outside Greenland along the highway on trail 3 right before the whoops. I go through that intersection about 20-30 times a season. In all those crossings, the only vehicle I've ever seen is a DNR pickup sitting about 200 yards back. I get the idea that it's an easy chase down with the highway right there, but . . .

It's frustrating. I see enough other activity that truly needs to be addressed. One example, the off trail riding around Bessemer right in town hurts trail access. Those main trails have been hard to keep. I wouldn't mind seeing that truck parked around some of those spots.
 
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wisco-mb

Active member
AWSC increased the DNR enforcement fund to $600K this year. Good to see!
Last weekend, about 2 miles north of Bottoms Up Bar, I came out of the woods and there were 2 DNR agents with a couple pulled over. Not the best location to sit. They must have seen the guy and chased him down. My best guess.
That storage unit lot is a pretty popular spot for DNR in BJ.
 
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united

Active member
wisco-mb said:
AWSC increased the DNR enforcement fund to $600K this year. Good to see!
Last weekend, about 2 miles north of Bottoms Up Bar, I came out of the woods and there were 2 DNR agents with a couple pulled over. Not the best location to sit. They must have seen the guy and chased him down. My best guess.
That storage unit lot is a pretty popular spot for DNR in BJ.
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Not necessarily against it. This is the first I have heard of it and don't know anything about it. But shouldn't DNR enforcement funds be allocated by the State from snowmobile registrations and AWSC funds be used for AWSC / trail infrastructure etc.?
 
indy_500

indy_500

Well-known member
favoritos said:
A lot of honest wisdom in that post.

I'll add to the part about those useless stop signs. Too many with no traffic makes people numb to stopping. I know it's tempting as all get out after so many.
As far as nabbing people. There is a stop sign outside Greenland along the highway on trail 3 right before the whoops. I go through that intersection about 20-30 times a season. In all those crossings, the only vehicle I've ever seen is a DNR pickup sitting about 200 yards back. I get the idea that it's an easy chase down with the highway right there, but . . .

It's frustrating. I see enough other activity that truly needs to be addressed. One example, the off trail riding around Bessemer right in town hurts trail access. Those main trails have been hard to keep. I wouldn't mind seeing that truck parked around some of those spots.
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Back in 2011 or 2012, me and a buddy got nabbed south of Mass/Greenland in the exact same “trap” you’re talking about. Kicker is, the stop sign was missing! We saw the stop ahead, got to the backwoods driveway and realized this must be where we were supposed to stop but there was no sign, got to the highway crossing and he was blocking the trail with his truck. Total jerk, we offered to let him keep our licenses so we could go back and show him the stop sign was missing. He didn’t care and said to fight it in court. Only thing he was nice about, was that he just wrote us 1 ticket. No way two 16 yr olds were driving back up there with gas at $4 a gallon to fight a ~$125 ticket at the time.
 
D

durphee

Well-known member
This occurred quite a few years ago around the Cable area and the backlash against it was so loud that this so the first large deployment I have heard of since. It drove tourists away from that area and the business's complained en mass...

As for me, like most said, I am not against enforcement. I actually think they should enforce more. But I was recently pulled over at 10 PM on a Saturday (in my car) and I broke zero laws. The cop was just shopping around for drunks. If I don't break any laws and get pulled over, it's a disgrace...and yes I asked several of my cop friends who I ride sleds with and side by sides with and they were even pissed about it...one of them even contacted the chief as it gives them a bad name. The old idea of "if you don't break the laws you have nothing to worry about" didn't hold water.
So long rant but....just enforce laws and you don't need these large roving gangs of officers.
 
favoritos

favoritos

Well-known member
indy_500 said:
Back in 2011 or 2012, me and a buddy got nabbed south of Mass/Greenland in the exact same “trap” you’re talking about. Kicker is, the stop sign was missing! We saw the stop ahead, got to the backwoods driveway and realized this must be where we were supposed to stop but there was no sign, got to the highway crossing and he was blocking the trail with his truck. Total jerk, we offered to let him keep our licenses so we could go back and show him the stop sign was missing. He didn’t care and said to fight it in court. Only thing he was nice about, was that he just wrote us 1 ticket. No way two 16 yr olds were driving back up there with gas at $4 a gallon to fight a ~$125 ticket at the time.
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I wonder how many of those tickets he has issued?

A few year back, I was riding with one other guy. I stopped at the sign and saw the pickup. No big deal. When we got to the highway, I checked to see if the buddy had caught up before crossing. He was waving to go, so I crossed. I saw the flashing lights coming down the road but didn't think much about it at the time. We stopped at the Trail 3 ,12 cluster to decide which one to take. I mentioned the lights on the highway and he said, "I think he was trying to catch me". I guess he did a slow roll through and the pickup took off as he crossed.

We also got a nice set of tickets years ago.
We were on the parking area of Summit Peak. It was a nice quiet spot to sit and enjoy a break during the day. The trail had been groomed for a few years. People were riding the trail that season, but it hadn't been groomed yet.
While we were sitting, we could hear this sled slowly coming. We watched as he finally pulled up. It was a DNR guy pulling a sleigh with tools. He came over to us and said we weren't supposed to be there. The trail wasn't open. We apologized and said we didn't know. We asked how we would know it wasn't open? Because it wasn't groomed yet? He didn't know, it just wasn't open.

We all got tickets. The only way to appeal was each individual showing up in person. I'm not even sure how we would have approached an appeal. No one drove back to fight the tickets. We donated over $400 bucks.

We used to love that trail. It was one of our favorites until that day. I think they quit grooming it after Jerry passed away.
 
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