Life Jacket Loaner Program For Kids Expands

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Child-sized life jackets will be available for loan at 40 marinas, parks and public offices this summer.   Life jackets will be available in three sizes, to fit infants and children weighing up to 90 pounds.  

All parents need to do is visit a loaner site, show a driver’s license, and return the life jacket to the same site at the end of the day or weekend.

The loaner program, which started in 1998, is a joint effort of Montana’s Safe Kids Campaign of Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies (HMHB); Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks, Montana Public Health and Human Services; and the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.  

“It’s critical for children to wear the proper sized life jacket when boating,” says Liz Lodman, FWP’s Boat Education Coordinator for Fish, Wildlife & Parks.   “A jacket that is too big can easily slip off of the child.   The loaner sites have several sizes of life jackets so parents can fit the right one to their child.”

  The 2003 Kids Life Jacket Loaner Program locations:    

 

Area/lake Location Billings

FWP Lake Elmo State Park

Bighorn Canyon

Ok-A-Beh Marina

Butte

Butte Community Health Center

Canyon Ferry

Kim’s Marina & Resort

Yacht Basin Marina

Cooney Reservoir

FWP Cooney State Park

Deer Lodge

River’s Edge Sporting Goods

Flathead Lake

FWP Big Arm State Park

KwaTaqNuk (Polson)

Lake County Health Department (Polson)

Marina Cay Resort (Big Fork)

FWP Wayfarers State Park (Big Fork)

Fort Peck Reservoir

Fort Peck Marina

Rock Creek Marina

Frenchtown

FWP Frenchtown Pond State Park

Georgetown Lake

Stuart’s Landing

Hauser Reservoir

FWP Black Sandy State Park

BLM Devil’s Elbow Recreation Area

Lakeside Marina & Resort

Havre

FWP Havre Area Office

Holter Reservoir

BLM Campground

Gates of the Mountains

BLM Log Gulch Campground

Kalispell

FWP Regional Office

Lake Como

U.S. Forest Service Lake Como Recreation Area

Lewistown

FWP Lewistown Area Office

Middle Thompson Lake

FWP Logan State Park

Missouri River

Missouri River Trout Shop (Craig)

BLM Fort Benton Visitors Center

BLM Coal Banks Landing

BLM Judith Landing

BLM James Kipp Recreation Area

Placid Lake

FWP Placid Lake State Park

 

Poplar

Fort Peck Tribes

Salmon Lake

FWP Salmon Lake State Park

Smith River

FWP Camp Baker

Spring Meadow Lake

FWP Spring Meadow State Park (Helena)

Tongue River Reservoir

FWP Tongue River State Park

Troy

Troy Dispatch Center

Whitefish Lake

FWP Whitefish State Park

The U.S. Coast Guard requires recreational boats to have a wearable life jacket on board for each passenger, and the life jacket must fit the intended wearer.   Children under 12 must wear their life jacket while on board the boat.

The Montana’s Safe Kids Campaign offers a free packet of water safety information available by calling: 1-800-421-6667.