Fly Fisherman’s 2017 Conservationist of the Year

January 26, 2016 By: Erin Block

Fly Fisherman magazine has opened the call for nominations for their 2017 Conservationist of the Year award. The award honors an individual whose volunteer work has significantly impacted the protection or enhancement of important fisheries habitat in the previous year.

Read more in the press release below.

Fly Fisherman’s 2017 Conservationist of the Year

There are many great conservation organizations out there working to protect our fisheries, and we all know their names: Wild Steelheaders United, Western Rivers Conservancy, Bonefish & Tarpon Trust, American Rivers, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, and the list goes on and on. These nonprofits have excellent leadership and highly trained scientists and project managers on staff, but they also rely on the largely unknown and under-appreciated efforts of boots-on-the-ground volunteers working to remove trash, install fish-holding structures, educate the public, tag fish, record data, dig holes, move logs, lift boulders, take samples, and generally get their hands slimy or dirty. Many of the dedicated and selfless volunteers doing this work are never recognized for their efforts, and most of their projects suffer from chronic underfunding. You can help change that.

FLY FISHERMAN’s 2017 Conservationist of the Year award will go to an individual whose volunteer work within a conservation organization has significantly impacted the protection or enhancement of important fisheries habitat in the previous year. We are not looking for presidents, CEOs, board members, or financial donors. We’re looking for donors who contribute time and/or sweat. We’d like to recognize people working at the grassroots level on specific projects in coldwater, warmwater, or saltwater environments. This is an award for the little guy who is doing big things in the field.

Our nine-person selection committee will judge the Conservationist of the Year based on the passion, longevity, dedication, successes, and the impact of the nominees, and we’ll recognize that person in the first issue of 2017.

Sage, with support from RIO and Redington, will make a donation of $10,000 to an organization designated by the Conservationist of the Year, and recognize that person with a Sage fly rod inscribed with both their name and the title “Conservationist of the Year.”

The nomination form is available at – http://www.flyfisherman.com/conservation/conservationist-of-the-year . Completed nominations must be received byJune 30, 2016.  Send to: [email protected] or by mail to: Selection Committee, Fly Fisherman Magazine, 6385 Flank Drive Suite 800, Harrisburg, PA 17112.

Ben Hoffman, Adv. Mgr. – Fly Fisherman
Outdoor Sportsman Group – Integrated Media
6385 Flank Dr., Suite 800
Harrisburg, PA 17112
717-695-8075
Fax – 717-545-2527
[email protected]