We're moving north... and I've talked to a number of port officials about mooring buoys and they all point to the DNR.

The DNR has an application process.

What I am trying to understand is do they often approve private buoys? Are there services that can fill out the forms and set a buoy right?

What do I need to know... beyond the very obvious "waterfront owners own the water to the mean low tide mark." (this is vastly different from CA, BTW, where waterfront land owners only own land down to the mean HIGH tide mark... thus all beach "that gets wet" is public beach.)