AFFTA leads by example with cash for conservation projects

When it comes to conservation in fly fishing, the US industry’s representative body is leading by example.

The American Fly Fishing Tackle Association (AFFTA) has just awarded $20,000 to support eight projects across the country, each designed to conserve fisheries, create new advocates and bring more people into the sport.

“The AFFTA Fisheries Fund is pleased to support the efforts of organisations working to conserve, restore and enhance our fisheries,” says Tom Bie, Fisheries Fund Chair. “We look forward to continuing to support such important work in the future.”

The eight successful applicants were chosen in three categories. In the education sector, the recipients were Keep Fish Wet for its nationwide Catch and Release Best Practices Toolkit; the Salmon Drift Creek Watershed Council for its Watershed Education Course in Western Oregon and Trout Unlimited for the TU Costa 5 Rivers Rendezvous in the Midwest.

Under research and management, grants went to the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust for its efforts to identify and map pre-spawning sites in the Florida Keys and Trout Unlimited for its work in Fish Mapping and Community Science in South East Alaska.

In the Habitat Restoration and Protection category, awards went to Cleanup the Colorado, organisers of the Annual LoCo Trash Bash in Central Texas; the Native Fish Society for the Lower Deschutes River Stewardship Project in Western Oregon and Trout Unlimited again for its project to help wild trout by reducing sedimentation in the Davidson River in North Carolina.

“Each project reflects the spirit of conservation and stewardship that the Fisheries Fund was created to support,” added Brent Bauer, Chair of the Fund’s Science and Policy Committee. “We’re proud to play a small role in helping them do great work.”