The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) Enforcement Division is being recognized for its achievement of re-accreditation with the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators’ (NASBLA) Boat Operations and Training (BOAT) Program. LDWF was the first law enforcement agency to receive this national accreditation in 2011. Since then the agency has been an exemplary role model for other agencies pursuing accreditation.
“The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries truly shares our mission for ensuring excellence in the training of our nation’s maritime first responders and readying them in the best way possible to ensure safety on our waterways,” says Dave Considine, NASBLA BOAT Program Director. “We are excited to see that our first accredited agency continues to hold the bar high for other agencies to follow.”
LDWF’s instructor cadre has played an integral role, not only in the training of Louisiana’s maritime operators, but also as instructors for NASBLA’s direct delivery courses throughout the nation. At the end of 2017, LDWF’s Enforcement Division had trained all of their agents in Boat Operations Search and Rescue (BOSAR), Boat Accident Investigations, and the Seated Battery of Field Sobriety Tests.
“We need all of our agents to be well-trained in all aspects of safe boating and search and rescue operations as those are two of our main missions,” said Col. Sammy Martin, head of the LDWF Enforcement Division. “We are proud of this re-accreditation as it shows our dedication to effective safe boating patrols and search and rescue operations in Louisiana.”
An additional 68 agents were trained in Boat Crew Member (BCM), 53 in Officer Water Survival, and 34 in the Tactical Operator Course discipline. LDWF has also trained an additional 73 officers in BCM and 8 officers in BOSAR from other marine law enforcement agencies throughout the state.
“The BOAT program and all of its many courses available provide our agents with the opportunity to train to a known standard,” said Major Rachel Zechenelly, Louisiana’s state’s boating law administrator. “This accreditation also means our agency can provide the same training to our agents and other law enforcement agencies to ensure we are all on the same page.”
Through the BOAT Program Accreditation process, an agency, division, department or unit and its maritime training policies, procedures, curricula, qualification process and documentation are assessed to ensure alignment with the National Standard. This process and subsequent Accreditation ensures interoperability with marine units across the country in specific applicable competencies. By accrediting agencies and departments throughout the country, NASBLA’s BOAT Program creates more trainers and qualifies more officers than any other program in the nation, truly enhancing the safety and security of America’s waterways. Agencies accredited are required to go through a re-accreditation process every three years.
The National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) is a national nonprofit association that represents the recreational boating authorities of all 50 states and the U.S. territories. NASBLA’s Boat Operations and Training (BOAT) Program was established in 2009 through the efforts of multi-organization “Council of Partners,” to ensure the readiness of state, local, and federal law enforcement and emergency response boat crews throughout the country, and in order to conduct missions on our nation’s waterways safely and effectively. The BOAT Program is recognized as the national standard of training, typing and credentialing by the United States Coast Guard, and by the boating authorities of all 50 States and six territories. Learn more about the NASBLA BOAT Program at www.nasblsa.org/boat.