In a historic victory for Vermont’s lakes, ponds, and all who enjoy our public waters, the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (LCAR) voted to approve the Agency of Natural Resources’ amendments to the Use of Public Waters Rules last week, providing stronger protections for many of Vermont’s most vulnerable lakes and ecosystems.

Under the revised rules, wakesports will now be prohibited on Joe’s Pond, Peacham Pond, and 10 other lakes, reducing the number of Vermont inland lakes eligible for wakesports from 30 to 18. I worked on this issue with colleagues around the state for many years and am deeply grateful for this result.

Wakesports utilize specialized motorboats equipped with ballast tanks and other features that create large, powerful artificial waves for wake surfing and related activities. The new rules do not prohibit the use of these boats for traditional recreational purposes such as water skiing, fishing, swimming, cruising, or transportation. Rather, they address the uniquely large wakes generated when these boats operate in surf mode.

Exhaustive scientific research and years of public testimony have demonstrated that these enhanced wakes can accelerate shoreline erosion, disturb fragile lake-bottom habitat, resuspend sediments and nutrients, and contribute to water-quality degradation. Vermont’s original 2024 wakeboat regulations were specifically designed to address concerns that large wakes can erode vulnerable shorelines and churn up bottom sediments in shallower waters.

The state has also recognized the risk that wakeboats can contribute to the spread of aquatic invasive species. Because ballast tanks retain water, Vermont adopted a “home lake” requirement in 2024 that limits wakeboats to a designated lake unless they undergo approved decontamination procedures before moving between waterbodies. Protecting lakes from invasive species remains one of the most important environmental challenges facing Vermont’s waters – as residents of Joe’s Pond know too well as they continue to battle milfoil.

Support for restricting wakesports on Vermont’s most sensitive lakes was broad and deep, involving lake associations, conservation organizations, local residents, paddlers, anglers, swimmers, and shoreline property owners from across the state. The updated rules will help safeguard public safety, wildlife habitat, water quality, and native ecosystems while ensuring that Vermont’s lakes remain available for a wide variety of recreational uses.

While these updated rules represent major progress, important concerns remain; particularly the continued threat of aquatic invasive species and the need for strong enforcement of ballast-water and decontamination requirements.

Many of the 18 lakes that remain open to wakesports are pristine waters that currently remain free of invasive species, and a number of them are here in the NEK. Protecting the water quality, ecological health, and natural beauty of these lakes must remain a priority for the state and for all who care about Vermont’s public waters.

This achievement demonstrates what Vermonters can accomplish when science, citizen engagement, and stewardship come together in defense of the natural resources that belong to all of us.