Twelve Alaskans perished in recreational accidents in 2008, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. By contrast, an average of 45 died each year here in the late 1980s -- including 70 in 1985.
Seventeen perished in 2007.
"We were all over the board until 2000 when the state passed a boating safety law, and the trend has been consistently downward," said Mike Folkerts, recreational boating safety special for the U.S. Coast Guard based in Juneau. "Alaska's boating safety program is the primary driving factor."
Joe McCullough, education coordinator in the state office of boating safety, particularly likes the trend.
"It's nice, but we don't focus on single years," he said. "If you look at a five-year period, you can see that the state has reduced the fatality rate by more than 25 percent. That, I think, is the more significant number."
Another number McCullough found particularly telling was the percentage of 13-to-17-year-olds who wear life jackets on the water. Between 2004 and 2006, the rate jumped from 34 to 48 percent.
"That's phenomenal," he said.
He attributes the change to the success of his agency's Kids Don't Float program, which he says has reached more than 56,000 children in 50 communities over the years.
• Loaner life jackets distributed by the program have saved 17 kids since 1996, he said.
But kids aren't the most at-risk group. Adult males are -- by far. Eleven of the 12 who died last year were men, mainly in their 40s.
"I'm surprised any females drowned," McCullough said. "They're smarter. They wear life jackets a much higher percentage of the time."
So how low can the fatality number go?
"Zero," McCullough said. "I don't think zero is impossible at all. I'm an optimistic guy, but I think we're going to see it in my lifetime."
Reporter Mike Campbell can be reached at mcampbell@adn.com or 257-4329.
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