A Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries enforcement agent was awarded the Louisiana’s National Association of State Boating Law Administrator’s (NASBLA) “Boating Law Enforcement Officer of the Year” for Louisiana.
Sgt. Austin Arteaga, of Slidell, received the NASBLA award at the monthly Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission meeting on Sept. 6 in Baton Rouge.
Sgt. Arteaga has been an LDWF agent for over 10 years and he mainly patrols the waterways in southeastern Louisiana including Lake Pontchartrain, the Mississippi Sound, the Gulf of Mexico, and Lake Borgne.
“Sgt. Arteaga is well deserving for this safe boating award as he consistently leads his district in boating safety enforcement and is always working to detect impaired boaters,” said Major Rachel Zechenelly, the states boating law administrator. “He has always taken pride in teaching the Louisiana Boating Education course and is very professional as lead investigator for fatal boating incidents.”
Sgt. Arteaga has distinguished himself by becoming a NASBLA Boating Program Instructor and a Louisiana Boating Education Course Instructor for the department. Since 2013, he has trained enforcement cadet classes in the NASBLA Boat Crew Member course (BCM) and the Boat Operations/Search and Rescue Course (BOSAR).
Sgt. Arteaga is also an instructor in the more advanced NASBLA Tactical Boat Operators Course (TOC) and the NASBLA Pursuit and Stop (PAS) course.