Boaters on Kosciusko County lakes say they feel harassed by DNR officers

SYRACUSE, Ind. (WANE) - People boating Indiana’s lakes have noticed an increase in the Department of Natural Resources patrols.  However, the increase has also led to many boaters upset when they're told why they're being pulled over.

The Syracuse Lake Association said it received a lot of complaints of people being harassed on the lake by the DNR.  The association decided to bring the DNR and State Representative Rebecca Kabachi to its annual association meeting on Saturday to address the issue.

Boaters at the meeting gave examples to why they felt they were being harassed.  Many boaters said they thought they were pulled over for no reason at all. 

DNR Lt. John Karass said the DNR officers are just doing their job.

“We are not out here to intrude on them, we are out here to enforce the law,” said Karass.

The DNR stepped up patrols on Indiana lakes in June looking for intoxicated boaters.  According to a DNR press release, Indiana conservation officers arrested 142 people so far this year for boating while intoxicated.  The DNR made 178 BWI arrests in 2011.

Syracuse Lake Association President, Becky Fox, said most of the people on Syracuse Lake have been getting stopped for reasons other than a possible BWI.

“One of the reasons why all the stops have been happening, most of the time it is because of the numbers on the boat,” said Fox.

State law has requirements on how boaters must display their registration numbers on their watercraft.

The DNR's website says the following are requirements for displaying registration numbers:

• Number must be painted, applied as a decal, or otherwise affixed to both sides of the bow.
• Number must read from left to right on both sides of the bow.
• Number’s color must contrast sharply with its background.
• Number must be in at least three-inch-high BLOCK letters.
• Letters must be separated from the numbers by a two-inch space
• Number must be a single color and clearly legible from a distance of 100 feet.
• Excise tax decals must be affixed on both sides of the bow, to the right of and within three inches of the number.
• No other numbers may be displayed on either side of the bow.

State Senator, Ryan Mishler (R-District 9), is the chair of the Agriculture and Natural Resource committee and an avid boater.  To his knowledge, there has been no changes to how registration decals needed to be displayed.

Earlier this month, Mishler started hearing stories from boaters and why they felt they were being harassed.

"It seems to me it is a little severe," said Mishler.  "Some of the stories I’ve heard they just sounds like they are a little severe.  I’d like to find out specifics and what we can do to find some middle ground."

Mishler said he doesn't know where the crack down on registration numbers came from.

"I’ve never heard of such a thing," said Mishler.  "If you have your numbers on there and your registration tag on.  I’ve never heard of anyone being harassed prior to the last few weeks."

According to the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, there are about 217,000 registered boats in the state.

Fox and Karass said people will hopefully understand and enjoy the rest of their summer.

“The more people that understand and understand the laws and rules of the lake, we are all going to be on the same page and there shouldn’t be any more of this,” said Fox.

“I think once they understand what we are trying to do they will understand better what our intended message is and how we are going to solve it,” said Karass.

NewsChannel 15 checked with other lake associations to see if they noticed any harassment from the DNR.  Lake James said it received complaints about minor violations such as improperly displaying registration numbers.  Other associations have not noticed a problem.

Boaters said they felt the DNR was cracking down on registration decals as a to give more sobriety tests and catch more intoxicated boaters.  Mishler's not sure why that decision was made.

"I don’t know who’s decision this was to start coming down on these other issues into catch drunk drivers, he said.  "Maybe the district decided to be more strict on these issues, I don’t know.  That’s what I want to find out. 

"We are going to meet with the head of law enforcement with DNR and my local law enforcement and find out what they are doing differently and why."

Mishler added he would consider writing legislation loosening the registration numbers in the next legislation session if this issue continues to be a problem.