(Dodge County) Dodge County waterways are safer in large part to the combined efforts the Dodge County Sheriff Office’s Recreation Deputy and locally assigned wardens from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. On a recent WBEV Community Comment, Dodge County Sheriff’s Deputy Jason Roy and Conservation Warden Ryan Mannes discussed the ways the two departments work together.
Roy says this summer, both departments have done a lot of boat patrolling together. He says that although he cannot address any gaming violations, when he and the wardens ride together, they can address gaming issues while he addresses any boating issues. Roy says that although they are not often a welcome sight to many boaters, the wardens and himself are out there doing an important job. He says many boaters refer to them as the fun police, but the truth is they are not out there to prevent people from having fun, but instead what they want is safety.
Mannes added that there is a third party that should be actively involved in advocating safety on the water, the community. Mannes says that it is often all fun until someone gets hurt, and injuries are what they are out there to prevent. He says you may get stopped for a minor boat violation but understand it’s not because they are the fun police, but because they want everyone to be safe when out boating on the lakes.
The Dodge County Recreational Deputy alongside the DNR will be on the lookout for safety violations on areas waterways this summer.
