The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) certified 211 boaters statewide after their fifth annual "Boating Education Lagniappe Day" on May 2.
Boating Education Lagniappe Day was at eight locations across the state and consisted of the National Association of Safe Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) boating education course, food and drinks, giveaways and door prizes all free of charge to the public.
The NASBLA safe boating certification is mandatory for anybody born after Jan. 1, 1984 who wants to operate a motorboat in excess of 10 horsepower.
The NASBLA approved course includes information on choosing a boat, classification, hulls, motors, legal requirements and equipment requirements. The course also covers many navigation rules and charts, trailering, sailboats, canoeing, personal watercraft and more. Each student received that completed the course was issued a vessel operators certification card.
The eight locations consisted of:
Webster Parish
LDWF Region 1 - Minden Office
Sponsors included Bayou Outdoors, Bass Pro Shops, Brown Service Center, Time It Lube, United Rentals, Minden Wal-Mart and the Louisiana Wildlife Agents Association.
Ouachita Parish
Academy Sports and Outdoors - West Monroe
Sponsors included Academy Sports and Outdoors, Louisiana Wildlife Agents Association and Pizza Hut.
Rapides Parish
Academy Sports and Outdoors - Alexandria
Sponsors included Academy Sports and Outdoors.
St. Landry Parish
St. Landry Lumber - Opelousas
Sponsors included Raising Canes of Opelousas, Louisiana Wildlife Agents Association and St. Landry Lumber of Opelousas.
Calcasieu Parish
Lake Charles Civic Center - Lake Charles
Sponsors included Whitetails Unlimited and the Louisiana Wildlife Agents Association.
Terrebonne Parish
Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office Rifle Range - Houma
Sponsors included the Louisiana Wildlife Agents Association.
Ascension Parish
Gonzales Boat Club - St. Amant
Sponsors included the Gonzales Boat Club.
St. Tammany Parish
Madisonville Branch of St. Tammany Parish Public Library - Madisonville
Sponsors included Raising Cane’s and the Louisiana Wildlife Agents Association.
For more information on boating regulations and safety, please visit www.wlf.louisiana.gov/boating. For more information on boating education courses, please visit www.wlf.louisiana.gov/boating/courses.
LDWF initiated the state's boating education program in 2003 and has certified over 75,000 boaters during that time. For more information, contact Gabe Giffin at ggiffin@wlf.la.gov or 225-765-3966.