Law Enforcement

Recreation Safety Patrol

Boat Patrol

The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department maintains a very active boat patrol. The Department patrols over 23,000 acres of surface water including The Mississippi River/Lake Pepin from below Maiden Rock WI to Prescott WI., the Saint Croix River from Prescott WI to near Afton MN., Several smaller rivers and streams, The Eau Galle Reservoir, and Nugget Lake. Our Patrol uses two boats, a 22 foot center console style boat and an 18 foot dual console boat. Over the past few years the boat patrol has also been using two personal watercraft/wave runners that were acquired free of charge though Yamaha’s law loan program , a program that encourages responsible operation of personal water craft and enforcement by local officials using personal watercraft.
Because portions of the Mississippi River in our area rarely freeze our boat patrol is active practically year round. Of course more time is spent on boat patrol during the warm weather months when boating is at it’s peak, and peak it does! The confluence of the St. Croix and Mississippi River at Prescott WI is considered the busiest and most congested waterway in the Midwest and is second to only a few waterways in the United States!

The main concern of our boat patrol is safety violations and officers work diligently at enforcing safety laws including Personal Floatation Device (life jacket) laws, speed restrictions, boating while intoxicated laws, and several safety regulations. For additional information on boating laws in the state of Wisconsin visit Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources. The Patrol also investigates and writes reports on boat accidents, assists with boating or water related emergencies, and performs body recovery operations for drowning victims.

Pierce County receives financial aid from the State of Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources to help offset the cost of the Safety Patrol, the money used is a portion of the boat registration fee that each boat owner pays to the State of Wisconsin. Additional funding is supplied to the State from the Federal Government and is derived from fuel and commerce taxes on commercial boats and barges.