IDNR Conservation Police train in Ottawa for icy water rescues, using airboats

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources Conservation Police have a valuable tool for winter rescues on the icy Illinois, Fox and Vermilion rivers.

But that equipment is only as good as the hands that wield it.

Monday, eight officers trained driving airboats on the Fox River in Ottawa, practicing navigating in icy or snow-covered icy waters. Officers from La Salle, Putnam, Grundy and Will counties took part in the practice.

“The boat operates on open water differently than ice,” said Conservation Police Officer Joe Kaufman. “The boat handles snow-covered ice and plain ice differently. Riding on exposed plain ice, it is a challenge. It just slides, and slides, and slides.”

Despite being a challenge to control on ice, Kaufman said the airboats are one of the best tools for navigating icy waters. The Conservation Police have four boats strategically placed across the state, including one to navigate shallow waters in the Illinois, Vermilion and Fox rivers. Kaufman said an airboat was used in recent years to rescue children near Henry who ended up on ice flow that had broken away.

“Airboats are a good boat to operate on ice, because they have a stable platform,” Kaufman said. “Any other emergency vehicle, such as a hover craft, and Standard Fire has a hover craft, it can be used for a rescue in the ice, but it has its limitations. A hover craft is not as large as an airboat.”

He said it was important each officer gets comfortable using the boats in icy waters before attempting a rescue.

“The procedure is to give up to 30 yards or so around the individual to break up the ice,“ Kaufman said. ”If you get too close during a rescue, the individual could get crushed by ice, by the boat pushing the ice toward them."

Kaufman said the state has the same model of airboat for each region, making them interchangeable to use for any officer trained on them.

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Illinois Department of Natural Resources Conservation Police officers use an airboat to glide on top of ice during a training mission on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, along the Fox River in Ottawa. (Scott Anderson)