SF3748

Purpose

This bill aims to protect uncultivated wild rice beds by restricting how and where watercraft can operate on Minnesota waters. It updates the rules to prevent watercraft from harming wild rice beds and from interfering with designated swimming or bathing areas.

Main Provisions

• Prohibits operating a watercraft within water areas that have been marked off or set aside as swimming or bathing areas, as determined by the commissioner’s rules.
• Prohibits operating a watercraft in or through an uncultivated wild rice bed unless the watercraft is propelled by hand (examples include a skiff or canoe).
• Prohibits operating a watercraft at greater than slow-no-wake speed within 150 feet of an uncultivated wild rice bed.

How it changes current law

• Amends Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 86B.311, subdivision 4, to add explicit protections for uncultivated wild rice beds and to clarify restrictions around watercraft near these beds and near swimming/bathing areas.
• Establishes that some restrictions rely on rules set by the commissioner.

Practical implications

• Recreational boaters would need to adjust behavior near wild rice beds and designated swimming areas to avoid prohibited activities, especially near uncultivated wild rice beds and within 150 feet of them.
• Enforcement would be guided by rules created or published by the commissioner.

Notable changes or clarifications

• Introduces a specific prohibition on non-hand-propelled watercraft in or through uncultivated wild rice beds.
• Sets a clear distance (150 feet) from wild rice beds where speed must be at or below slow-no-wake.
• Ties the designated swimming/bathing area protections to commissioner-approved rules.

Potential limitations (based on provided text)

• The excerpt does not specify penalties or enforcement mechanisms beyond referencing commissioner rules.
• The exact scope of “within 150 feet” and how it interacts with other nearby water activities is not fully spelled out in the excerpt.

Relevant Terms uncultivated wild rice bed watercraft slow-no-wake 150 feet hand-propelled skiff canoe swimming or bathing areas commissioner rules Minnesota Statutes 86B.311 subdivision 4