The purpose of the state recreational boating safety program is to encourage greater state participation and uniformity in boating safety efforts, and particularly to permit the states to assume the…

The Department of Homeland Security US Coast Guard awarded the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources $1,467,877 in formula grant funding on October 1, 2025, under the Boating Safety Financial Assistance program (CFDA 97.012).

The award funds recreational boating safety activities in Kentucky through September 30, 2028. Eligible uses include providing facilities, equipment, and supplies for boating safety education and law enforcement; training personnel in boating safety and enforcement; delivering public boating safety education to the boating community and public school system; acquiring, constructing, or repairing public access sites used primarily by recreational boaters; conducting boating safety inspections and marine casualty investigations; establishing and maintaining emergency and search-and-rescue facilities; establishing and maintaining waterway markers and aids to navigation; and administering state recreational vessel numbering and titling programs.

The Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources is a state government agency headquartered in Frankfort, Kentucky, operating under the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The agency holds no federal contracts and does not subcontract on federal awards. KDFWR operates a portfolio of federal grants concentrated primarily with the Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 4, with additional formula grant support from the U.S. Coast Guard for recreational boating safety.

The purpose of the state recreational boating safety program is to encourage greater state participation and uniformity in boating safety efforts, and particularly to permit the states to assume the greater share of boating safety education, assistance, and enforcement activities. Federal funds provided for a state's boating safety program may be used for any of the following expenses. 1. Providing facilities, equipment, and supplies for boating safety education and law enforcement, including purchase, operation, maintenance, and repair. 2. Training personnel in skills related to boating safety and to the enforcement of boating safety laws and regulations. 3. Providing public boating safety education, including educational programs and lectures, to the boating community and the public school system. 4. Acquiring, constructing, or repairing public access sites used primarily by recreational boaters. 5. Conducting boating safety inspections and marine casualty investigations. 6. Establishing and maintaining emergency or search and rescue facilities, and providing emergency or search and rescue assistance. 7. Establishing and maintaining waterway markers and other appropriate aids to navigation. 8. Providing state recreational vessel numbering and titling programs.