Minnesota DNR Offers Key Safety Tips for Boating, ATV Riding, and Hunting as Summer Ends

(KNSI) – The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is reminding residents how to be safe in the outdoors as summer winds down and the leaves begin to fall.

The next two weekends are traditionally the last big boating opportunities before the kids go back to school. Conservation Officer Chad Thesing shared with KNSI his number one piece of advice for folks having fun on the water. “At the very least, know that you have enough life jackets for everybody on the boat. It would be nice to wear them, but at the very least, know that you have them and where they’re at if you need them.”

The law states that children under ten must wear a lifejacket on a boat.

Thesing also offered advice on staying safe on another popular mode of recreational transportation, riding an ATV. “One of the biggest things I see when I see an ATV accident is somebody’s not wearing a helmet. And when you’re on an ATV, if you have an accident, that is about the only thing that’s going to save you.”

The law requires kids under the age of 18 to wear a helmet when riding or driving an ATV.

The fall also marks Minnesota’s hunting season. Thesing passed along his best advice to make it a happy hunt. ” One of the things I could say is, if you’re going to go out and hunt alone, let somebody know where you’re going and when you plan on coming back. That way, we can have a starting point to maybe come rescue you if you don’t show up at home at a certain time.”

For safety tips for the great outdoors, click here.

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