South Dakota DNR considering new boat rules

South Dakota DNR considering new boat rules

PIERRE – South Dakota’s Game, Fish and Parks Commission will consider this week whether to finalize two rules that officials say would make boating safer.Charlie Wharton of the agency’s Wildlife Division says one proposal would raise the age limit for children who must wear lifejackets while boats are being operated, and the other would require people being towed on such things as water skis, kneeboards, float tubes or other devices to wear a life preserver.

“The one for children: Anybody 12 years old or under has to be in a life jacket when the boat’s under way,” Wharton said. “The second one is, anybody who’s being pulled on skis or a wakeboard or anything like that being towed behind a boat, they would have to have a life jacket on.”

In the past, children under 7 had to wear personal floatation devices, Wharton said, adding that he thinks the rule changes would make summer fun safer.

Efforts also will be made to tell the public of ways to enjoy water recreation while decreasing the chances of accidents, according to Wharton.

“We’re really going to try to do even more than we’ve done in the past,” Wharton said in an interview. “They’ve done a really good job in the past of being able to educate the public, but now hopefully we have a little bit more time to be able to do some of that, just to get the information out to the people.

“Recreational boating is a big part of the life here and we want to make it as safe as possible.”

The GF&P Commission meets in Fort Pierre Thursday and Friday and plans to address the potential rule changes and a variety of other issues.

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