DEM OFFERS BOAT REGISTRATION RENEWAL, SAFE BOATING INFORMATION CENTER, SUMMER JOB APPLICATIONS AT BOAT SHOW

PROVIDENCE - Department of Environmental Management staff will be on hand at the Providence Boat Show at the Convention Center in January to renew current boat registrations, answer questions about registering new boats and have available boating safety information and application forms for new boat registration. Boat registrations can be renewed on Saturday, January 13 from noon to 8 p.m. and Sunday, January 14 from noon to 4 p.m. There will also be a secured drop box for registration renewals at any hour. Renewals at the boat show must be by check only. The boat show itself runs from Thursday, January 11 through Sunday, January 14.

DEM's Boating Safety program staff will host an information center at the boat show, with emphasis on the importance of all boaters wearing life jackets. A DEM environmental police officer will be on hand throughout the show to answer questions on boating, hunting, fishing, and shellfishing, and the DEM boaters' guide will be available. The guide offers safety tips as well as information on boating laws, equipment requirements, and boat registration.

In addition, teens seeking summer employment with DEM can pick up application forms at DEM's boat registration booth. DEM is seeking seasonal employees 16 years of age and older for such positions as park rangers, beach managers, seasonal laborers, lifeguards, lifeguard captains, program interns, and recreation area clerks. Pay ranges from $6.15 to $12 per hour. Paid positions are also available as part of the Department's minority internship program which is designed to encourage minorities to pursue careers in the environmental field. The program gives individuals a chance to explore jobs in agriculture, parks and recreation, fish and wildlife management, forest environment, water resources, management services, and policy and planning.

More than 20,000 boat registration renewal forms - with $2 coupons off the price of admission to the boat show - are expected to be mailed out during the first week of January by the department's contractor. However, DEM will have blank cards at the boat show for attendees who have not yet received the renewal form. Current registrations expire at the end of February.

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