rk_diver
12-28-2009, 08:31 PM
Just a couple FYI's for those who've had the misfortune of having their ATV's or shanty's drop through the ice.
1) Make sure to notify the Dane County Sheriff's Office or local warden (probably best to notify the Sheriff's Office since they'd be the ones responding on a rescue call) right away of the details. Not doing so could cost you a few bucks in tickets, but more importantly it may prevent a rescue team for responding for no reason.
If you remove your property yourself;
2) After you've removed your ATV you must fence off the area you cut through to get your unit out. After things have frozen back up solid you must remove the fencing.
3) Notify the Sheriff's Office or local warden that your property has been removed and the bad area has been fenced off.
In previous years I've been hired to recover some of these ATV's and shacks, right now though because of (hopefully temporary) health reasons I'm unable to do so. The only other local group I know of that does this is Kosmic Divers (850-4614). While I did this more of a hobby and was therefore able to not charge a whole lot, Kosmic Divers is a business and has overhead, therefore he will be more expensive. For those who choose to do it themselves I can offer some (free) advice on what to do (my usual Hotmail account is down right now, so you can contact me through my other account rk_diveratyahoo.com (replace the word "at" with the @ symbol). Make sure to put something in the header of the message like "Lake Kegonsa" or something to let me know it isn't a junk email. If the property is something like a shanty or something that sunk to the bottom try and SAFELY get some GPS coordinates. Unless something really goes to hell I'll be back out diving again as soon as the lakes open up and can assist in any recoveries at that point.
There's laws that dictate what has to be removed from the lakes and any grace periods that may apply (for example an ice shanty doesn't pose any real threat to the health of the lake and historically if the ice is questionable the Sheriff's Office or Wardens will allow it to stay down there until spring. An ATV or snowmobile leaking gas, oil and battery acid may require quicker removal). I believe the local Wardens have the final word on this situation.
Hope this helps those who've taken an unexpected bath...
Rick
1) Make sure to notify the Dane County Sheriff's Office or local warden (probably best to notify the Sheriff's Office since they'd be the ones responding on a rescue call) right away of the details. Not doing so could cost you a few bucks in tickets, but more importantly it may prevent a rescue team for responding for no reason.
If you remove your property yourself;
2) After you've removed your ATV you must fence off the area you cut through to get your unit out. After things have frozen back up solid you must remove the fencing.
3) Notify the Sheriff's Office or local warden that your property has been removed and the bad area has been fenced off.
In previous years I've been hired to recover some of these ATV's and shacks, right now though because of (hopefully temporary) health reasons I'm unable to do so. The only other local group I know of that does this is Kosmic Divers (850-4614). While I did this more of a hobby and was therefore able to not charge a whole lot, Kosmic Divers is a business and has overhead, therefore he will be more expensive. For those who choose to do it themselves I can offer some (free) advice on what to do (my usual Hotmail account is down right now, so you can contact me through my other account rk_diveratyahoo.com (replace the word "at" with the @ symbol). Make sure to put something in the header of the message like "Lake Kegonsa" or something to let me know it isn't a junk email. If the property is something like a shanty or something that sunk to the bottom try and SAFELY get some GPS coordinates. Unless something really goes to hell I'll be back out diving again as soon as the lakes open up and can assist in any recoveries at that point.
There's laws that dictate what has to be removed from the lakes and any grace periods that may apply (for example an ice shanty doesn't pose any real threat to the health of the lake and historically if the ice is questionable the Sheriff's Office or Wardens will allow it to stay down there until spring. An ATV or snowmobile leaking gas, oil and battery acid may require quicker removal). I believe the local Wardens have the final word on this situation.
Hope this helps those who've taken an unexpected bath...
Rick