Full course description
Course summary:
The Everglades National Park Online Boater Education Course covers important safety information for boaters as well as specific considerations for protecting the sensitive resources in Everglades National Park. The course discusses the heightened level of protection of the Park's natural resources and outlines recommended boater behavior and equipment necessary for safely navigating Florida Bay, the Gulf Coast, backcountry marine areas, and Ten Thousand Islands.
The Everglades National Park Online Boater Education Course is required of all who operate a motorboat (i.e., internal combustion engine, electric motor) within the National Park. Upon successful completion of the course assessment, prospective motorboat operators must obtain an Everglades National Park Motorboat Certificate in order to operate a boat in the park.
This course is free of charge; however, when visiting Everglades National Park, you must be in possession of an entrance pass. Information on entrance fees can be found on the Park's website.
Course objectives:
After completing this course, learners should be able to:
- Understand the federal and state regulations that provide the framework for boater safety and resource protection.
- Identify sensitive park resources and the strategies used to protect them.
- List appropriate ways to interact with park resources to prevent impacts and/or damage while boating.
- Identify the location and implications of designated wilderness, restricted, or closed areas for resource protection.
- Identify visitor activities and behaviors that impact park resources.
- List shallow water boating strategies and techniques to prevent impacts.
- Anticipate environmental conditions and uncertainties that could affect your boating experience.
- List consequences of inappropriate or illegal actions within the park.
- Identify equipment and navigational aids necessary for safely boating in park waters.
- Determine the key boater-specific attributes and skills affecting your boating experiences.
Course topics include:
- Why Here?
- Key Points about Protected Places
- Where Are We?
- Zone Maps
- Preparing for Your Trip
- Know Before You Go - Skills and Experience
- Know Before You Go - Going Fishing?
- Know Before You Go - Rules and Regulations
- Know Before You Go - Tools and Equipment
- Know Before You Go - Environmental Conditions
- Loading and Launching
- Florida Bay
- Around the Cape
- Open Water
- Ten Thousand Islands
- The Mangrove Backcountry
- Wilderness Waterway & Everglades Paddling Trail
Elements of the course:
- Informational text
- Informational video
- Interactive practice activities
- Supplemental reference materials
- Final assessment
This course is self-paced, allowing learners the flexibility to complete the course as quickly or slowly as they need.
After completing all course content and activities, you will complete a final quiz to demonstrate your understanding of key course concepts. Upon successful completion of the quiz, you will be awarded a certificate of completion.
Course creators:
This course was designed and developed jointly by the National Park Service, the Eppley Center for Parks and Public Lands at Indiana University, and the support of expert stakeholders.
Recommended background
Successful completion of this course is required in order to obtain a Boater Certificate for Everglades National Park.
How to access:
Upon enrolling, you will receive instructions and the link to the Canvas course. Note: When you register, you will receive an email invitation. Be sure to accept that invitation, or Canvas will not allow you to open the course modules.
Enrollees can move through content modules at their own pace within the course timeframe.
Privacy Act Statement:
Authority: The primary authorities for this program are in 36 CFR 1.5 - closures and public use limits. This activity was approved in the 2015 EVER General Management Plan/East Everglades Wilderness Study/Environmental Impact Statement Record of Decision (approved October 23, 2015).
Purpose: The intended use of the information collected is to 1) allow any member of the public to complete the Everglades National Park Boater Education Program as administered by the Eppley Institute, 2) allow motorboat operators to receive a Everglades National Park boat operator's certificate to allow proper use of park marine waters, and 3) allow the Eppley Institute to communicate with individuals taking the course and having a certificate to provide program updates (e.g., revised or new course content that boaters should know).
Routine Uses: Information is disclosed to Indiana University's Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands to manage and process the data on behalf of the National Park Service. The National Park Service is the data and program owner and is responsible for ensuring that all data and processes are consistent with Federal laws and policies. In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C.552a(b) of the Privacy Act, records or information contained in this system may be disclosed outside the National Park Service pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) based on an authorized routine use when the disclosure is compatible with the purpose for which the records were compiled as described under the system of records notice "INTERIOR/DOI-16, Learning Management System."
Disclosure: Voluntary, however, failure to provide the requested information may impede individual participation in the Everglades National Park Boater Education Program.