Middle River Dispatches

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Executive Director's Blog

Today’s Outdoor Media

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From OWAA News

The outdoor communication industry has a rich history of helping the America people see the outdoors even if they couldn’t get outside themselves.Kids curled up with flashlights and sporting maga­zines under their bed covers. Adults read newspapers in leather chairs while smoking a pipe and enjoying a single malt.

Magazine articles, TV shows and outdoor columns in newspapers, transported Americans into the great outdoors.

Today, OWAA members keep that tradition alive while we, as our missions says, “set the highest ethical and communications standards.”

We bring adventure, great storytelling and enter­tainment into the homes of the public, but even more importantly, outdoor journalists continue to play a criti­cal role in helping the American people see the value in the great outdoors while also calling attention to what threatens it.

The history of outdoor writers calling attention to bad land or wildlife management actions is legendary. Journalist can point out how, without public vigilance, their elected officials will sell that heritage to the highest bidder.

One of the more significant mission tenets of OWAA is “encour­age public enjoyment and conservation of natural resources.”

Outdoor journalists show a simple equation; healthy habitat creates recreation opportunities. And recreation drives significant economic activity. That is a message that resonates in the halls of power and is strong medicine in fighting for the protection of our natural resources.

Our members are the voices that show the world the grandeur of America’s outdoor resources. They are the voices that share the stories — good and bad — of our waters and woods.

Land, fish and wildlife don’t have human voices, so we must be the voice to reach the American people. My job is making sure our members have the tools and opportunities to be a loud and effective voice.

OWAA is comprised of more than 800 individual outdoor communicators covering a broad spectrum of outdoor beats, from shooting to camping, fishing to kayaking and wildlife watching to backpacking. From these diverse backgrounds and disciplines, members gather beneath the OWAA ban­ner to hone skills, share philosophies, develop profitable business strategies and network with peers, conservation policymakers and industry trendsetters.

Eighty-seven years ago the men who started OWAA thought the work they were doing as chroniclers of the great outdoors was important enough to found an organization to perpetuate the craft.

Today, access to public lands is shrinking, habitat loss is increas­ing and environmental issues complex. The work we do today as outdoor journalists is as important, perhaps even more so, then it was back then.

Midwinter Board Update

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From OWAA Newsowaa-active-member

In January, when the Board met for the annual midwinter board meeting, I presented a report on the financial and operational status of the organization. Like previous reports, it focused primarily on the financial and membership aspects of OWAA operations. It is my pleasure to share that with you as well.

Even though 2014 saw some cash flow challenges, we are able to present a balanced budget for 2015. The key to our financial security continues to rest on the revenue side of our operations. We can’t “cut” our way to financial security; we need to “grow” our way there. As you will see below, we are making good progress.

Membership is up 10 percent as of December 2014 compared to May 2014 and Supporting Group affiliations are up 18 percent

Since the last board meeting the team at headquarters has been busy on a number of fronts, and here are some highlights of our efforts.

While the presentations were excellent, the attendance at Conference in McAllen, Texas, was a disappointment. There was a big lesson learned: No more conferences close to holidays.

When the U.S. Forest Service initiated a rulemaking on filming and commercial photography in wilderness areas we responded with press statements, columns in Outdoors Unlimited and blog posts. President Mark Freeman and I had telephone conversations and meetings with Forest Service leadership. We submitted written comments for the record. OWAA’ s efforts were acknowledged in USFS Chief Tidwell’s letter to the field clarifying the policy.

In order to help increase awareness of OWAA we sponsored the Press Room at the American Fly Fishing Trade Association’s International Fly Tackle Dealer show which is co-located with the American Sportfishing Association’s International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades show.

I joined the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association (SEOPA) and had the pleasure of attending their 50th anniversary conference. It was a great opportunity to visit with past and present OWAA notables. Board member Tim Mead very graciously made my “green ribbon” experience quite enjoyable. Thank you,Tim.

We added the Ocean Conservancy as a new EIC Fishing Category Co-Sponsor thanks to the good works of Brandon Shuler.

Working with the Strategic Planning committee we implemented a revised Strategic Plan -See Strategic Plan 2014 Update 2.

Finally, as we move into 2015 we will be focusing on having a successful conference in Knoxville, Tennessee, and looking at ways to improve member and supporter communications.

As always, your comments and suggestions are most welcome. Call me directly at 406-552-4049 or email me.

Today’s Outdoor Media

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From OWAA NewsRum Chron1.2

The outdoor communication industry has a rich history of helping the America people see the outdoors even if they couldn’t get outside themselves.

Kids curled up with flashlights and sporting maga­zines under their bed covers. Adults read newspapers in leather chairs while smoking a pipe and enjoying a single malt.

Magazine articles, TV shows and outdoor columns in newspapers, transported Americans into the great outdoors.

Today, OWAA members keep that tradition alive while we, as our missions says, “set the highest ethical and communications standards.”

We bring adventure, great storytelling and enter­tainment into the homes of the public, but even more importantly, outdoor journalists continue to play a criti­cal role in helping the American people see the value in the great outdoors while also calling attention to what threatens it.

The history of outdoor writers calling attention to bad land or wildlife management actions is legendary. Journalist can point out how, without public vigilance, their elected officials will sell that heritage to the highest bidder.

One of the more significant mission tenets of OWAA is “encour­age public enjoyment and conservation of natural resources.”

Outdoor journalists show a simple equation; healthy habitat creates recreation opportunities. And recreation drives significant economic activity. That is a message that resonates in the halls of power and is strong medicine in fighting for the protection of our natural resources.

OWAA members are the voices that show the world the grandeur of America’s outdoor resources. They are the voices that share the stories — good and bad — of our waters and woods.

Land, fish and wildlife don’t have human voices, so we must be the voice to reach the American people. My job is making sure our members have the tools and opportunities to be a loud and effective voice.

OWAA is comprised of more than 800 individual outdoor communicators covering a broad spectrum of outdoor beats, from shooting to camping, fishing to kayaking and wildlife watching to backpacking. From these diverse backgrounds and disciplines, members gather beneath the OWAA ban­ner to hone skills, share philosophies, develop profitable business strategies and network with peers, conservation policymakers and industry trendsetters.

Eighty-seven years ago the men who started OWAA thought the work they were doing as chroniclers of the great outdoors was important enough to found an organization to perpetuate the craft.

Today, access to public lands is shrinking, habitat loss is increas­ing and environmental issues complex. The work we do today as outdoor journalists is as important, perhaps even more so, then it was back then.

Your Voice of the Outdoors

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From OWAA News

OWAA President Mark Freeman joins me for a joint post about how OWAA works for you.

An important part of any outdoor communicator’s job is to inform the public about the health of our forests, the status of our wildlife populations and the way public lands are managed. For OWAA and its members it is a duty we take seriously and a service upon which the public relies.

That’s why when a proposed directive by the U.S. Forest Service threatened access for outdoor communicators to designated wilderness areas, OWAA sprang into action, advocating on behalf of our membership and all outdoor journalists. We saw it as a threat to our members, and an attack on our First Amendment rights.

We spoke directly to U.S. Forest Service Chief Thomas Tidwell weighing in on the importance of access and the service our members and other journalists provide to the public.

To his credit, Tidwell recognized OWAA and its membership as the “voice of the outdoors,” asking for suggestions for better wording for the directive and continued involvement as the agency works to protect America’s wild places, while recognizing the importance and rights of journalists.

You can read more about our conversation with Tidwell in the upcoming December/January issue of Outdoors Unlimited.

In the meantime, we encourage members to read the proposed directive and provide comments before the Dec. 3, 2014, deadline. You can email comments directly to reply_lands@fs.fed.us.

(Read and comment via this link: https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-21093)

Stewardship and Mentoring

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FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S BLOG

With Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources Molly Ward. Photo by Marie Majarov

One of the exciting things about being OWAA’s executive director is the chance to visit with other outdoor communicators.Recently I had the chance to attend the Virginia Outdoor Writers Association’s annual meeting. Here are a couple of highlights.

Virginia’s new Secretary of Natural Resources Molly Ward gave the keynote at the conference. We had a chance to visit and talk about the stewardship of our natural resources and the importance of outdoor recreation to Virginia’s economy. Encouraging the public enjoyment and conservation of natural resources is part of OWAA’s mission and having the chance to tell Secretary Ward about how important OWAA members and supporters are that effort was time well spent.

The Virginia Outdoor Writers Association, like OWAA, has an excellence in craft contest. Matt Reilly, an OWAA student member, was one of the winners. The cool thing about Matt was he was also a winner of Sportsmen For Responsible Energy Development essay contest and went to Washington D.C. to meet the Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell. According to SFRED, “Jewell has said that engaging young people in conservation and nurturing their connection to the outdoors are critical to the health, economic and social benefits of conserving our public lands.” (http://sfred.org/media-center/news/youths-interior-secretary-talk-public-lands)

Sitting on the couches, from left, are Haley Powell, Rebecca Brown, Sally Jewell, Matthew Reilly and Jarred Kay. Photo by Tami A. Heilemann/DOI

Sportsmen For Responsible Energy Development is a coalition dedicated to conserving irreplaceable habitats so future generations can hunt and fish on America’s public lands. The coalition is led by the National Wildlife Federation, Trout Unlimited and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, all OWAA supporting groups.

Part of the OWAA mission is being mentors for the next generation of professional outdoor communicators. That part of our mission is critical to our future. I think you will agree the Virginia Outdoor Writers Association, Sportsmen For Responsible Energy Development, and Secretary Jewell are doing a great job with that one.

 

Conservation Posts

On the Wet Fly Swing podcast

Last month I was a guest on Dave Stewart’s Wet Fly Swing podcast. Dave is great host, we chatted for over an hour and covered a lot of ground!

Remembering Jim Range

Ten years have passed in a blink of the eye. This is the tribute I wrote for the News Virginian in 2009. I don’t think I can do any better today.

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