Center for Water Policy Assistant Director Tressie Kamp was featured in a “Door County Knock” article about the fate of the abandoned Donny S. tugboat, increasingly entrenched in Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin, after remaining unmoved since fall 2021.
Law enforcement issued the owner of the tug citations totaling tens of thousands of dollars, but the owner is without means to remove the vessel. A navigation and safety hazard, the boat also could pose a risk to the environment if harmful liquids are released into surrounding waters.
Kamp explains in the article the authority of various government entities to remove the Donny S., but states that “a lack of any clear mandate for government action further complicates the problem of removal.” The Center recommended more clear and efficient solutions to the issue of abandoned boats in Wisconsin, the Great Lakes, and beyond, in a summer 2025 policy brief, around the same time the Wisconsin Legislature started considering related proposed legislation to try and address the issue.
Read the full story from “Door County Knock” here: Fate of the Donny S. uncertain after years of questions
Read the Center for Water Policy’s abandoned boats policy brief here.