The coastland times with which is combined the pilot and herald of Belhaven and Swan Quarter. [volume] (Manteo, N.C.) 1959-1973, 1961-04-14

THE CO
laws and regulations on all public
waters throughout the country. One
important part of this authority is
setting a standard of quality fol
hfesaving and other required boat
ing equipment.
The Wildlife Resources Com
mission, especially the Wildlife
Protection Division, has received
excellent cooperation from the
Coast Guard. The same has been
true with the Education Division
in handling boat accident reports.
Getting Ready
One of the first steps in putting
North Cardinals boating safety
program in operation was setting
up the mechanics of boat registra-
ton. Suitable registration certifi-
Gates had to be designed, and
mechanical equipment purchased to
print, process and record boat reg
istrations. Additional personnel
were needed to do the necessary
mechanical, filing and accounting
work.
In the field of boating safety
education, complete text of the
law was printed in Wildlife in
North Carolina as soon as possible
after the law was ratified, and a
"Motorboat Owners Guide" in COM
pliance with numbering and safety
laws was published. Boating safety
posters were designed and distri-
buted. An average of two pages in
each issue of Wildlife magazine
have been devoted to boating and
boating safety matters.
At the Institute of Government
in Chapel Hill the entire wildlife
protection staff was given an inten-
sive training course in the boating
safety law and enforcement proce-
dures. The Institute also prepared
a guide book for use in enforcing
boating safety laws and regula-
tons. Later the enforcement staff
was trained in ifesaving and res
cue techniques.
Following the training period, as
many fast powerful patrol boats
were purchased as limited funds
would allow, and all of the Com
missions boats were equipped with
all of the safety and warning de-
vices required by the Act.
With the approach of the boating
season, courtesy inspection teams
went to boating centers throughout
the state to further inform the
boating public regarding the pro-
visions of the new law.
How Do We Stand?
When the Boating Safety Act of
1859 was being written it was esti-
mated that from so to 10 thousand
boats would be registered under the
provisions of the act, producing
a revenue of from $4,000 to
$4,000. During calendar year
1860, however, only 1882 boats
were registered. This brought
revenue of only $119,9OS as COM
pared to an anticipated revenue
of from two to three times this
amount.
Although the Commission did an
excellent job of carrying out the
administrative, educational and en-
forcement requirements of the law,
inadequate funds seriously hamper
ed the latter two activities.
1t should be noted that the Boat
ing Safety Act prohibits, and right
ly so, the use of wildlife funds for
boating safety activity and the use
of boating funds for wildlife con-
servation activities. With the added
responsibility of enforcing boating
safety law and regulations, wildlife
protectors found it necessary to ex-
pand their working time per week
in order to handle these new duties
without cutting back on wildlife
protection activities. Boat registra-
ton revenue and the loan from the
Contingency and Emergency Fund
allowed enough funds for only 40
of the protectors total work time
during the boating season april
- September), and did not provide
funds for any additional personnel,
or any equipment during the 1860
81 fiscal year.
The Act provides that q. the
Wildlife Resources Commission is
hereby authorized to adopt a plan