Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officers and their customized "Wear It Michigan" Zodiac patrol vessel will be in Port Huron this weekend for the 85th sailing of the Pure Michigan Bayview Port Huron to Mackinac Race.

The DNR's "Wear It Michigan!" campaign is a simple message to promote the value of life jacket wear by recreational boaters. To reinforce that message this summer, the DNR is giving away more than 400 inflatable life jackets to boaters on the Detroit River and Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair who pledge to wear them at all times while boating. The life jackets have been donated by the National Safe Boating Council and its boating safety partners across the U.S. and Canada. Additional prizes, coupons and gift cards are being donated by campaign sponsors Belle Tire and West Marine.

"State law requires every boat to have one life jacket on board for every occupant of the boat and all children under the age of six to wear a Coast Guard-approved Type I or II life jacket when riding on the open deck of any vessel," said Lt. Andrew Turner, state boating law administrator for the DNR's Law Enforcement Division. "This promotion is our way of letting Michigan boaters know that it's important to always wear -- and not just stow -- life jackets on board one's boat."

During the DNR's "Wear It Michigan" campaign, state conservation officers will be out on the water in a specially marked "Wear It Michigan" boat asking boaters they meet to take the "Wear It" Pledge. Everyone who signs a pledge card will be entered in a weekly drawing to win a manual inflatable (Type III) life jacket that will have a "Wear It" rubber logo sewn onto the life jacket.

"We want everyone to enjoy their time on the water this summer, but water enthusiasts also must realize that safe, responsible, courteous boating is everyone's responsibility," Turner said. "Each year, unsafe boating practices account for injuries, deaths and property damage, most of which could have been avoided. Always wearing a life jacket should be the rule for everyone."

To learn more about the "Wear It Michigan" campaign, including the schedule for future stops at harbors and boat launches along the Detroit River and on Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie, visit the DNR Web site at www.michigan.gov/dnr and click on the "Wear It Michigan" button on the front page.