Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
THE MICHIGAN Department of Natural Resources dedicated a 27-foot boat in honor of Frank Opolka, former DNR deputy director for the Upper Peninsula. From left are DNR Lt. Peter Wright, Opolka, DNR Law Enforcement Division Chief Gary Hagler and DNR Law Enforcement Division Assistant Chief Dean Molnar.
MARQUETTE - A 27-foot Department of Natural Resources boat was named for former DNR deputy director Frank Opolka in a ceremony Wednesday in Marquette.
The boat was one of three acquired through federal Port Security Grant Program funding.
Opolka was responsible for DNR operations in the Upper Peninsula.
The boat is docked at the Presque Isle Marina in Marquette and is used for patrols on Lake Superior, from Marquette County on west.
The patrols include fishing and marine safety checks, boating while under the influence patrols, search and rescue operations, patrols of the Marquette and Keweenaw underwater shipwreck preserves, commercial fishing checks and assisting other agencies.
Opolka started working for the DNR in 1964 as a conservation officer, after serving with the U.S. Marines and earning a bachelor's degree at Northern Michigan University in Marquette.
While serving as a conservation officer, he worked in Crystal Falls and Escanaba for seven years, before transferring to Lansing, where he served as administrative assistant to the chief of the DNR Law Enforcement Division.
In 1978, Opolka was promoted to chief of the DNR's Law Enforcement Division, a capacity in which he served until 1985, when he returned to the U.P. as the DNR's deputy director.
He retired from the DNR in 1995, but later served one more year at the request of former DNR Director K.L. Cool. He also went on to serve for six years on the Michigan Waterways Commission, including one year as chair in 2004.
As deputy director, Opolka made himself available to the public and regularly met with officials in all 15 U.P. counties.
He developed legislation that created and implemented the Report All Poaching program in Michigan.
The boat was manufactured by SAFE Boats International. Founded in 1997, SAFE Boats designs and builds vessels that help keep military, law enforcement and fire professionals safe.
It is a 27-foot, center-console, full-cabin boat with an overall length of 29 feet, 4 inches. It has a 10-foot beam and a dry weight of just over five tons. It is powered by twin 300-horsepower Evinrude E-Tec outboard motors.
The boat contains state-of-the-art electronics, including the latest in radar, sonar, a chart-plotter and forward-looking infra-red.
The cabin is both heated and air-conditioned so that the boat can remain in the lake from ice-out to ice-in.
Side scan sonar paints a high-resolution picture of the Lake Superior bottom and will be a helpful tool in locating drowning victims, lost gill nets and viewing shipwrecks, DNR officials said.
