Wildlife Officers Leave Lake Patrols To Others During Holiday

Beautiful weather brought large crowds to Lake Norman this Labor Day weekend, but some officers who usually keep the lake safe were not on the waters at all.

Instead, North Carolina Wildlife officers were working the opening of dove hunting season.

Kyle Wisnant said he spent hours on the lake over the weekend -- including six hours on Monday morning -- preparing for an upcoming fishing tournament. Not once did he see a wildlife officer patrolling the waters, he said.

Typically, as many as 10 wildlife officers patrol Lake Norman on weekends.

Wisnant said the lake seemed safe this weekend, even without those officers.

“I notice a lot more adults in boats instead of younger people," he said, in reference to a new law requiring boat and Jet Ski operators to be at least 26 years old. “A lot more life jackets, a lot more rules. The sheriff's been out there patrolling, so it's actually been a better year (for safety,) I think."

Wildlife officials said that since, in addition to its department, four counties are responsible for patrolling the lake, they weren’t concerned about jeopardizing safety by not patrolling over the weekend. Catawba, Iredell, Lincoln and Mecklenburg county officials share the responsibility.

Officer Scott Howard, with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department's lake patrol, said this weekend was busier than last year, but was nothing they couldn’t handle.

“Drunk boating, loud music calls, reckless operation, people getting their piers buzzed," Howard said, listing off some of the calls they answered during the holiday weekend. “(The lack of wildlife officers) does impact the manpower that's out on the water that covers the lake, but we're still doing what we've always done."

Dan Williams, who usually vacations on Lake Wylie but was at Lake Norman this holiday, said the police's reassurance was enough to make him feel safe, even if it meant a little self-policing.

“You make sure the life jackets are handy, and you make sure everybody knows where everything is on the boat itself," he said. "It seems like a lot of people out there are pretty safe-minded."