Public access ramps

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Public access ramps will be ready for opener

DNR Reports
Anglers anxious for the May 13 walleye fishing opener will find most public boat launches in good condition.


The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Trails and Waterways Division is making a special effort to ensure all boat launches are ready by that date. However, repairs to launches depend on the weather.


?Work crews are making good progress to prepare the public water accesses for the upcoming fishing season,? said Suzann Willhite, DNR Water Recreation Program coordinator. ?However, many lakes still have ice. So we need to wait until the ice is off before work can begin on those sites.?


Willhite said winter weather is always a challenge to Minnesota?s boat ramps. ?As ice leaves a lake, it can push and buckle the concrete plank structures like an accordion.?


This phenomenon, called ?ice heaving? or ?ice jacking,? is caused by the pushing action of a lake?s ice sheet against the shore. Crews repair damaged ramp accesses by removing the pushed and broken planks and replacing them with new ones.


In addition to repairing the more than 1,500 DNR-operated public boat launches, DNR crews will install docks and toilets at many of those sites.


Docks assist boaters in launching and boarding their watercraft. Toilets are necessary for popular sites with high use and demand. The DNR will provide more accessible toilets this year, and in the future, to meet the need for persons of various physical abilities.


?Access users should take all trash with them when they leave as litter continues to be an ongoing problem at public launches,? Willhite said.


Boaters who encounter problems should contact their local DNR office or the DNR Information Center at (651) 296-6157 or 1-888-MINNDNR (646-6367).


For information about Minnesota?s boat access and water recreation, visit the DNR?s Web site at www.dnr.state.mn.us