Jim Range National Casting Call

What better way to highlight the importance of fisheries conservation than by spending a day fishing on the banks of the Potomac River at Fletcher’s Cove in the heart of Washington, DC.  The American Fly Fishing Trade Association’s Jim Range National Casting Call and Family & Youth Casting Call provide a hands-on opportunity for the fly fishing industry and their partners to educate Congress, the Administration and the public on fisheries and aquatic habitat issues.  

Come join us on the banks of the Potomac.  Show your support, do a little fishing and participate in protecting the fisheries we are working hard to preserve for generations to come.

                                    
2010 Jim Range National Casting Call
Celebrating Fish Habitat Partnerships

On Earth Day, April 22, some of Washington, DC’s power players met on the dock at Fletcher’s Boathouse on the Potomac River for the 2010 Jim Range National Casting Call (JRNCC). The goal of the event is to give members of Congress, agency officials and congressional staff the opportunity to connect the legislative work they do on fisheries conservation and fishing tackle trade issues to the fun of a day on the water.  Participants fished the Potomac’s spring shad run and saw firsthand how creative conservation partnerships are making a difference for fisheries across the country.

Understanding and supporting the expansion of those types of public/private partnerships through the National Fish Habitat Action Plan was a focal point of the JRNCC.  The Action Plan, envisioned to mirror the successful partnership that was developed for wetlands and waterfowl through the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, was officially launched at the JRNCC five years ago.

The plan works at federal, state, tribal and local levels to focus funding and technical resources for fish habitat projects in order to prevent and reverse declines in freshwater, estuarine and marine habitats. There are now seventeen approved fish habitat partnerships around the country with four candidate partnerships seeking recognition from the National Fish Habitat Board to become an officially recognized Fish Habitat Partnership under the Action Plan.  Legislation to formalize the National Fish Habitat Action Plan and authorize funding to support fisheries conservation partnerships is currently pending in the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 2565) and U.S. Senate (S. 1214). 

A primary focus of the Plan is calling attention to waterways through the 10 Waters to Watch list, a collection of rivers, streams and shores  that are representative of freshwater to marine waters, lakes and rivers across the country that are improving through the conservation efforts of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan.  Every year at the Jim Range National Casting Call, a new group of Waters is announced launching focused efforts around each habitat to improve water and habitat quality in these select areas. The 2010 10 Waters to Watch are: Bobs Creek, PA; Diamond Lake, IA; Fairbanks/Soda Springs, NV; Georgetown Creek, ID; the Green River Basin in the Rocky Mountain west; Koktuli River, AK; Lake Vermillion, MN; Mackeys Creek, MS; West Branch Machias River, ME; and Wasilla Creek, AK.

“Our approach – teaming federal, state and local partners – is helping to bring these waters back to life in most cases…in a faster more strategic way,” said Kelly Hepler, Chairman of the National Fish Habitat Board. “By watching these 10 models of our nation’s aquatic conservation efforts, we can see real progress in treating the causes of fish habitat decline, not just the symptoms.  Through sound science and on-the-ground partnerships, these select projects can be held high as a vision of what quality habitat should be, which affects all people throughout the United States.”