Recent incidents of public sex at a local clothing-optional beach has Department of Natural Resources officials looking for ways to control indecent activities.
Mazomanie Beach, a nude beach on the Wisconsin River about 25 miles south of Madison has seen 13 citations for disorderly conduct in 2013 alone, DNR spokesperson Nathan Kroeplin said in an email to The Badger Herald. All of these citations included sexual acts, he said.
“Many of the people cited said they read about the beach on the Internet and came to the beach looking for a sexual encounter,” Kroeplin said.
He added the citations for disorderly conduct are a civil forfeiture and carry a fine of $263.50, as well as eviction from the property until the issue is settled in court.
Over the past several years the DNR has closed certain parts of the property where a lot of illicit sexual activities were occurring, Kroeplin said.
This year, the DNR extended the enforcement of these closed areas from March 1 through Sept. 15, in addition to closing the entire property on weekdays.
“Prior to this year, illicit sex violations were more frequent on the weekdays, which was the cause for the weekday closure,” Kroeplin said. “Other patterns we have observed is that many of the encountered violations are from people visiting the beach from out of the area, many from out of state.”
Despite such regulations, the amount of sexual citations did not decrease, he said. In addition to the sex citations, other less severe citations were issued involving littering glass bottles.
Calls to the Naturist Action Committee and Friends of Mazo Beach, groups that advocate for nudist access and rights to public land, were not returned.
