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Filling the need to teach our youth

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The $70 million in funding for a new youth conservation education initiative proposed by the Obama administration recently got a bit of attention in Washington.

This new initiative, know as the 21st Century Youth Conservation Corps, was included in the president’s 2010 budget request for the Department of the Interior.

On June 3, more than 140 groups, including many prominent hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation organizations, co-signed a letter to Congress urging them to support full funding for this initiative. The letter points out that the initiative “will bolster environmental education, recreation and service programs throughout the Department, and engage thousands of youth in the outdoors.”

On Monday, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to the president, were on the National Mall in Washington to talk about the program. At the event, Salazar signed a Secretarial Order establishing an Office of Youth in Natural Resources at the Department of the Interior.

“President Obama and I believe that during tough economic times, a new national youth program is needed to provide jobs, outdoor experiences and career opportunities for young people — especially women, minorities, tribal and other underserved youth,” Salazar said.

This type of funding is long overdue. Education, especially when it connects young people with the outdoors, is a wonderful investment. It is the young people who will be the next stewards of out great natural resources heritage.

One of the challenges those of us who love the outdoors face is connecting, or in some cases, reconnecting our kids to the outdoors. Funding like this can go a long way to help support existing programs like Trout in the Classroom or the Archery in the Schools Program or high school fishing teams like the one at Orange County High School. It also means there will be resources for the states and local communities to start new programs.

Here in the Valley we are fortunate to have an abundance of outdoor opportunities and a rich heritage of hunting, fishing and conservation. But even the Valley is not immune from the distractions of modern society. Our young people need both guidance and opportunity to learn about and contribute to our rich natural resource heritage.

Unfortunately, fewer and fewer young people are being exposed to traditional outdoor recreation. They are out of touch with nature. They are missing the connection to hunting, fishing and the food on the table. They don’t learn about the connection of fish and wildlife habitat, natural resources conservation and economic activity.

We are facing an emerging “conservation gap”. As the population becomes more urbanized, the ties to nature and the value and need to conserve our fish and wildlife habitat is broken. The loss of this connection to our outdoor heritage poses a growing threat to conservation of that fish and wildlife habitat.

We must engage this and future generations in fish and wildlife related recreation and conservation. And, we have to do it on their terms and in a way that is relevant to them.

If Congress approves the funding, $40 million will be used to supplement existing programs at the Department of Interior. This will create greater opportunities to engage young people across all of the Department’s natural resources agencies.

The best part of this initiative is the new $30 million in funding for grants to state and tribal programs for hunting and fishing education and outreach. Special attention will paid to urban and minority youth programs.

The importance of reaching urban and minority youth cannot be over-stated. The model for wildlife conservation in this country is successful because it engaged hunters and anglers in conserving our natural resources. If that connection is lost because we fail to reach growing segment of our population then those of us that enjoy the great outdoors may lose the chance to pass it on to future generations.

You can read more of my columns at News Virginian.com

Learning on the Potomac

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I spend a fair amount of time in Washington, D.C. Recently, I was there for the Nation’s River’s Bass Tournament. The Nation’s River Bass Tournament is an annual event connecting students from Washington D.C. and nearby Virginia and Maryland schools with the outdoors.

The event is put on by Living Classrooms of the National Capital Region in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The event takes place at National Harbor on the Potomac River in Maryland.

More than 300 students came out for a morning of fishing and education. The event helps raise money for Living Classrooms’ academic and workforce development programs. Last year the event raised over $40,000. Living Classroom uses a “hands-on” approach to education and job training. They use urban, natural and maritime resources as “living classrooms”.

Selected students had a chance to fish “tournament style” with volunteer bass “pros” from the local area. These anglers are organized by Captain Steve Chaonas of National Bass Guide Service. Chaconas, a former radio and TV talk show host, has been fishing on the Potomac for nearly forty years. He and his fellow “pros” make sure the kids learn while they are on the water.

Fishing from volunteer guide Peter Yanni’s boat, students Brennen Mayer and Kevin Brown boated the winning catch. Their five “keepers” total more than fifteen pounds with one “lunker” weighing five pounds and five ounces. Winmar Construction sponsored this winning team.

Students who did not go out to fish with the pros moved in groups to fifteen educational stations set up along the East Pier at National Harbor. They also had a chance to get out on the water on Living Classrooms’ ship, the Half Shell. The Half Shell, a Chesapeake Buyboat, is one of several “floating classrooms” that Living Classrooms conduct their shipboard education programs on.

The event much like the, Jim Range National Casting Call, helps highlight the Potomac River as an important economic, educational and community resource. The Potomac River is considered one of the top ten rivers in the country for largemouth bass fishing.

The Potomac is also home to both migratory fish like the stripped bass, American and Hickory shad and herring as well as freshwater fish like bass and sunfish.

If this event was any indication than I can personally attest to the excellent fishing. Twenty-plus boats went out Wednesday morning and by 11:30 a.m. everyone had returned with fish. Most boats returned with fish tipping the scales over three pounds.

Recreational Fishing is an important contributor to our national economy. In Virginia alone it accounts for more than $800 million in retail sales and 15,000 jobs each year. When anglers also make an important contribution by introducing fishing and conservation to young people who might not otherwise have a chance to participate in the sport then you have a real winning combination.

Last Thursday, representatives from the five federal agencies responsible for most of the federal investment in fishing and aquatic habitat provided a group of us an informal briefing on the funding they had proposed for fish and aquatic habitat programs.

Across the board, there was more funding proposed for the various fisheries programs than I have seen in a long time. There is also money included for more youth education including grants for programs to “educate and energize young hunters and anglers.”

Those investments are what will keep the wonderful outdoor recreation we have here possible.

You can read more of my columns at News Virginian.com

Roadless Rule gets a “time-out”

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The folks at TRCP have some good news from the Department of Agriculture!

Here is the Press Release:

Administration Takes Action to Safeguard Roadless Areas

Directive issued today defers backcountry management decisions to the secretary of Agriculture, helps conserve important fish and wildlife habitat and sustain outdoor traditions

WASHINGTON – A decision today by the Obama administration to issue a “timeout” on development of inventoried roadless areas was lauded by prominent outdoor-oriented groups that support responsible backcountry management and the exceptional sporting and recreational opportunities provided by these public lands. The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Outdoor Alliance, Outdoor Industry Association and Izaak Walton League of America support the move by U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to issue a directive requiring high-level review of proposed backcountry development until permanent rules for these areas’ management can be resolved.

“We’re pleased that the administration has elected to undertake this action and affirm its support of responsible management of inventoried roadless areas,” said Joel Webster, TRCP associate director of campaigns, “and we look forward to working with Secretary Vilsack and the Department of Agriculture in ensuring that America’s outdoor traditions, including hunting and angling, are sustained by conserving these important backcountry public lands.”

Today’s memorandum from the Agriculture Department establishes the secretary’s “decision-making authority over the construction and reconstruction of roads and the cutting, sale or removal of timber in inventoried roadless areas on certain lands administered by the Forest Service.”

“Every American who appreciates and enjoys the vast range of amenities provided by our nation’s outdoors has reason to support today’s decision by the administration,” said Thomas O’Keefe, Pacific Northwest stewardship director for American Whitewater and OA roadless campaign director. “Whether they are climbers, hikers, backcountry skiers, mountain bikers or paddlers, outdoor recreationists agree that our national forest roadless areas play a crucial role in enabling and upholding our country’s outdoor traditions.”

Close to 60 million acres of roadless areas are encompassed within America’s national forests and grasslands. A series of conflicting court decisions regarding the 2001 roadless rule have left management of these areas unsettled for years. Many outdoors-oriented groups support national legislation that conserves America’s backcountry lands and the fish and wildlife, sporting and recreational resources they sustain.

“Thanks to decisive leadership by Secretary Vilsack, sportsmen and other outdoor recreationists can look forward to our continued ability to enjoy the irreplaceable fish and wildlife habitat and high-quality outdoor experiences facilitated by backcountry areas,” said Kevin Proescholdt, IWLA director of wilderness and public lands and member of the TRCP’s Roadless Initiative Working Group, “and we stand ready to assist the secretary in working to conserve these public lands into the long-term future.”

The secretary’s announcement also has implications for roadless areas located in Colorado, where the state has been engaged in developing a plan for their management. Specific projects proposed in Colorado roadless areas will be subject to secretarial-level review under the new directive because the Colorado roadless rule has not been completed.

“Today’s decision by the administration means that hastily finalizing the Colorado roadless rule won’t be in keeping with the way the rest of the national forests are being managed across the United States,” said Amy Roberts, OIA vice president of government affairs. “Responsible management of Colorado’s roadless areas will help maintain the billions of dollars annually generated by active outdoor recreation in this country. In today’s troubled economy, Americans are relying on sustainable forms of revenue like these more than ever.”

“Ultimately, America’s roadless areas are essential in supporting the range of public-lands outdoor traditions that form the bedrock of our national identity,” Webster concluded. “Every citizen has reason to applaud this reasonable and prescient move by the administration to guarantee that this unique identity will endure.”

The Jim Range National Casting Call

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On Monday I was in Washington, D.C. to participate in the Jim Range National Casting Call. I also had the privilege that evening to be the Master of Ceremonies at the event celebrating the life and conservation legacy of Jim Range, my dear friend who tragically died in January from cancer.

This was the ninth year that the American Fly Fishing Trade Association had gathered on the banks of the Potomac river to celebrate fly-fishing and an aquatic habitat success story, the return of prolific runs of American and Hickory shad to the Potomac river.

This was a special year for those of us who, under Range’s leadership, started the Casting Call. AFFTA’s board of directors, after conferring with the Range family and his friends, decided to rename the event in Range’s honor.

Jim Range was a widely recognized conservation visionary who represented AFFTA in Washington. He was a hero to many in the hunting, fishing and conservation community.

I wrote in this column at the time of his death that he was like a brother to me. The best man in my wedding, a hunting and fishing partner of many years, and the voice on the other end of the phone keeping me strong when trouble came. I still feel that way today and know many more who do as well.

Range saw the Casting Call and its venue, Fletcher’s boathouse on the Potomac, as the perfect opportunity for the fly-fishing industry to educate members of congress and administration officials on the important nexus between conservation and economic activity.

He knew as well that the partnership efforts that had gone into restoring shad to the Potomac were a model that could be replicated across the nation.

“The Jim Range National Casting Call gives us a chance to get government decision-makers on the Potomac to see and experience the aquatic resource we all cherish,” said Alan Gnann, Chairman of the Board of AFFTA. “It was our friend Jim who showed us that this was the best way to communicate the importance of aquatic habitat and fisheries and we will continue this tradition in his name and his honor.”

Around the time of the first casting call, the federally chartered Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council, of which Range was a member, recommended that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service develop a partnership effort similar to the successful North American Waterfowl Management Plan.

This effort, endorsed by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and supported by numerous conservation organization and federal agencies became the National Fish Habitat Action Plan.

The Action Plan is a science-based voluntary effort to address the challenges facing aquatic habitat and our nation’s fisheries. There are six regional partnerships, including the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture that works here in the Valley.

Range saw the newly created National Fish Habitat Action Plan as an exceptional example of how partnerships like the one that had helped the shad could be replicated across the country. He saw the National Casting Call as a great opportunity to showcase success.

“The National Fish Habitat Action Plan’s approach – teaming federal, state and local partners – is helping to bring fishable waters back to life in a faster more strategic way. We can see real progress in treating the causes of fish habitat decline, not just the symptoms,” said Kelly Hepler, Chairman, National Fish Habitat Action Plan. “The Jim Range National Casting Call gives NFHAP the opportunity to spotlight 10 specific projects that display on the ground work that can be held high as a vision of what quality habitat should be.”

The Action Plan’s 10 “Waters to Watch” was started in 2007. It highlights examples of aquatic habitat conservation efforts of the National Fish Habitat Partnerships. In addition the NFHAP board presents two group awards and two individual awards including newly renamed Jim Range Conservation Vision Award, given this year to world- renowned conservationist Yvon Chouinard, the founder of outdoor clothing manufacturer Patagonia Inc.

Jim Range was deeply missed at this year’s Casting Call, but his name and legacy live on in tribute to his memory.

You can read more of my columns at News Virginian.com

New Web site promotes recruitment and retention of hunters

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Here is the Wildlife Management Institute’s announcement:

The Wildlife Management Institute (WMI) announced the launch of a new Website dedicated to sustaining and enhancing North America’s hunting heritage.  The Website, www.huntingheritage.org, will serve as a clearinghouse for information, programs and contacts related to programs that advance safe and ethical recreational hunting.  The Website was premiered at the 74th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference last month in Arlington, Virginia.

The Website currently hosts the Recruitment and Retention Assessment Survey Report.  This report was designed and prepared by WMI in cooperation with D.J. Case & Associates.  It provides the most comprehensive assessment of current efforts by all 50 states and 19 conservation organizations to recruit and retain hunters nationwide.  In addition, the Website provides a real-time compilation of recruitment and retention program details.  State agencies and conservation organizations are encouraged to share their program details with colleagues from other agencies and organizations.  WMI and D.J. Case & Associates expect a summer release of a companion report about hunting-access programs for each of the state and federal resource and land management agencies.

The above efforts form a basis for the Hunting Heritage Action Plan (Action Plan).  The Action Plan was conceived by the Hunting Heritage Steering Committee.  It will entail assessment, analysis and strategies to enhance hunting by examining seven programmatic areas: the role that hunting and hunters in conservation; conservation education; hunter recruitment and retention; social and economic impacts of hunting; political and legal obstacles and opportunities; outreach; and a funding plan to address gaps in program coverage.

The Action Plan was modeled after the successful North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP), which was developed to counter declining waterfowl numbers.  Just as NAWMP became a rallying mechanism for wetland and waterfowl enthusiasts in the mid-1980s, the Action Plan will provide comprehensive information for the determination of national strategies, objectives and priorities to counter declining hunter numbers.  Individuals, agencies, organizations and industry are encouraged to provide support for this important effort.The Website and Action Plan were partially funded by the Multistate Conservation Grant Program and the Wildlife Restoration Program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“The launch of www.huntingheritage.org provides the information system that will drive future efforts to sustain our hunting heritage,” remarked WMI President Steve Williams.  “WMI would like to thank the federal and state agency and conservation organization contacts who helped compile this critical information.   Thanks also are due Bob Byrne, Jon Marshall and other D.J. Case & Associates staff who developed the informative Website. The success of efforts to advance hunting through effective hunter recruitment and retention requires comprehensive and accurate baseline information.   WMI encourages agencies, organizations and individuals to update and utilize the Website.”

What you can do to stop spreading aquatic nuisance species

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Aquatic nuisance species are a growing concern in the fishing and boating community. While many of us who hunt and fish care a great deal about conserving and protecting our habitat, we may be ignoring a growing problem.

For many years, aquatic nuisance species, also called aquatic invasive species, were considered to be a problem in the west and Great Lakes, not here in Virginia.

You may have heard about whirling disease in the western rivers or New Zealand mud snails in trophy trout waters in Idaho, Montana and the Yellowstone National Park. Didymo or “rock snot” was fouling those waters as well.

Unfortunately for us, we now have to worry. Didymo, short for Didymosphenia geminata, has been found below the dams on the Smith River, the Jackson River and the Pound River.

According to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, “Didymo can smother streambeds and adversely affect freshwater fish, plants and invertebrate populations by depriving them of habitat. These stalks can form a thick brown mat, effectively covering the entire river channel.”

No one seems to know for sure how it got here. What is important is not to spread it.

What can we do?

Like many die-hard fisherman I was convinced that felt was the best bottom for my wading boots. Felt grips well on wet and algae covered rocks.

The problem with felt is it is also a great transport mechanism for mud and other junk that can hold microorganisms and aquatic invasive species.

I have used sticky rubber soled boots for the last five years. Recently, I replaced my old boots with Simms G4 Guide boots. Simms switched from AquaStealth and now uses a Vibram 360 lugsole. I have been using them this spring and am impressed with the way they grip.

Simms announced they would phase out felt soles on all of their wading boots, sandals and shoes by 2010.

“We know felt is not the only material that has spread invasive species and disease,” Simms president K.C. Walsh said. “But felt is surely part of the problem. At Simms, we’ve decided to be part of the solution.”

Simms however is not alone in moving away from felt. Trout Unlimited has asked all manufactures to drop felt by 2011.

At L.L. Bean, their Riverkeeper line uses AquaStealth. Mike Gawtry, Bean’s product line manager told me, “we are going to exit felt by 2010.”

A nice touch and typical of L.L. Bean is the cleaning brush they include with the boots.

Orvis offers a sticky rubber boot in the Clearwater Navigator Rubber Sole Shoe and the Side-Zip Brogue Boots. Both boots have studs in the rubber soles.

“Orvis uses its own sticky rubber compound,” Tim Daughton product development specialist at Orvis told me. “We plan to continue to expand the non-felt options.”

Cloudveil’s 8X grippy rubber boot uses a Vibram Idrogrip sole. The tread pattern is different from the others resembling a car tire tread.

Patagonia uses its own Star Tread sticky rubber. I have not used their boots but knowing the company I expect the boots work well, folks I trust confirmed that.

Bill Dawson, a sales representative for Cloudveil worries that anglers may think just getting new boots is going to solve the problem. Dawson notes there are other pathways like fabric, laces, crevices that can carry bad stuff from place to place.

Bill Klyn, Patagonia’s marketing manager says anglers need to change their behavior as well as the soles of their boots. “inspect, clean and dry needs to be the mantra for all anglers now.”

Inspect your gear to get the plants, mud and debris off. Next, take a moment to rinse and scrub your boots and waders streamside or at home to make sure all the mud and debris is off. Then if you can, let it dry before fishing in different water.

Learn more and take the Clean Angler Pledge at http://www.cleanangling.org. Hat tip to @roughfisher on Twitter.