Meet Our First #PublicLandsProud Contest Judge: Marty Sheppard

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Marty Sheppard is a fishing guide in Maupin, Oregon possessing an almost missionary zeal for teaching others and sharing in the pure joy of rivers. Born and raised in Oregon, Marty grew up on the banks of the Sandy River, spending much of his time devouring books, especially those written by such notable and insightful naturalists as Roderick Haig-Brown and Bill McMillan. Marty is the proud husband of three -time World Champion Spey Caster, Mia Sheppard, who is also the Oregon Field Representative for TRCP and father to a spunky little fly fisher girl, Tegan. In 2003, they purchased Little Creek Outfitters, a fly-fishing guide service on some of Oregon’s best rivers. As ardent public land users who depend on continued ability to access rivers and backcountry areas, the Sheppards understand first-hand the wide-reaching economic benefits to individuals, as well as local communities, who rely on outdoor opportunities.

From now through July 31, Marty is guest judging your best summer fun on public lands photos for this round of the #PublicLandsProud photo contest. He’s looking for a winning photo that calls the viewer into the moment, so make sure your summer fun moment beckons! And watch the TRCP Instagram account this week too, as Marty will be taking over our account and giving us a glimpse into his life on public lands.

TRCP: So, Marty, how do you like to spend your time outside?

Marty: What makes me happy is that I have the freedom to explore. Without public lands, this would be extremely limited. I am thankful to have the ability to hunt, fish, hike, and investigate such beautiful places.

TRCP: What makes a great photo of a summer day spent on public lands? What will you be looking for in the winning photo?

Marty: I am a huge fan of capturing light at the appropriate time. This is what makes a good photograph for me. Combine that with an activity, or more specifically, a sportsman-themed endeavor and we will have a winner!

TRCP: What makes you #PublicLandsProud?

Marty: I am proud to live in a place with the opportunity to roam on public land. I am proud to have representation from groups like TRCP, who has my back in protecting the heritage of access to these special places. I am proud to be a husband, dad, and business owner who puts public lands as a high priority in shaping our lives. I am #PublicLandsProud

Show us your #PublicLandsProud moment and you could be featured on our blog and win a #PublicLandsProud prize package. It includes a new pair of Costa sunglasses, a copy of Steven Rinella’s new book, The Complete Guide to Hunting, Butchering, and Cooking Wild Game, a Simms TRCP-branded hat, a First Lite merino wool neck gaiter, TRCP/Sitka-branded YETI rambler tumbler, Orvis fishing shirt, and Bantam buck knife.

by: Kristyn Brady

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July 13, 2016

RECREATIONAL ANGLING GROUPS CALL FOR INNOVATIVE NEW APPROACHES TO MARINE FISHERIES MANAGEMENT

News for Immediate Release

Jul. 13, 2016

Contact: Kristyn Brady, 617-501-6352, kbrady@trcp.org

Collaborators reveal the findings from a series of workshops on alternative solutions for federal fisheries

ORLANDO, Fla. — Today at ICAST, the world’s largest sportfishing trade show, recreational fishing and conservation group leaders revealed the preliminary findings from a series of collaborative workshops on alternative approaches to federal fisheries management.

The same broad coalition behind the 2014 landmark report on recreational fisheries managementworked closely with NOAA Fisheries, state game and fish managers, biologists, and researchers to identify ways to revise the current approach. Right now, federal fisheries managers set catch limits for both commercial and recreational sectors in a way that undervalues recreational fishermen and their $70-billion contribution to America’s economy. Innovative new solutions could give anglers more predictable seasons, boost conservation, and improve local economies in coastal communities and beyond.

“Although recreational anglers only catch two percent of the total fish harvested in U.S. waters, we create almost as many jobs as the commercial fishing industry”—455,000 jobs, in fact, said Mike Nussman, president and CEO of the American Sportfishing Association, the trade group that produces the ICAST conference and events. This year’s is their biggest show yet, with 13,000 attendees walking a 650,000-square-foot showroom packed with close to 600 exhibitors—a perfect backdrop for a discussion of new ideas.

The first workshop, facilitated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in Tampa this May, was geared towards identifying where existing federal fisheries management approaches fail to adequately accommodate the unique nature of recreational fisheries and specific ways to address these issues. The group discussed alternatives that are rooted in existing management practices currently used for fish and waterfowl at the state level, such as:

– Managing for a harvest rate, rather than a quota that must be tracked in real time.
– Spatial management, or allowing fishing out to certain depths or distances from shore, while making deeper waters off-limits to recreational harvest so brood stock can replenish.
– Looking at temporary and long-term allocation shifts between the recreational and commercial sectors, which might include shifting some species from recreational to commercial allocation and others from commercial to recreational.
– Developing new programs to gather better recreational harvest data or take advantage of existing voluntary harvest data.
– Reducing release mortality with new technology or better education on existing tools.

These initial conclusions were presented to congressional staff and representatives of the environmental community at a second workshop this June in Washington D.C. The group also discussed the potential legislative and regulatory changes needed to achieve these possible alternatives. Some solutions possibly require changes to the existing federal fisheries law, but others could be addressed through collaboration with NOAA Fisheries.

“When the Magnuson-Stevens Act was written 40 years ago, recreational fishing was an afterthought in the statute, and it is unlikely that this Congress will get around to discussing reauthorization,” a process that might allow for beneficial updates, said Jeff Angers, president of theCenter for Coastal Conservation. “But we’ve found friends at NOAA who are trying to help. There are things that can be done by an agency that’s willing to look at things a little differently.”

Russ Dunn, the national policy advisor on recreational fisheries at NOAA, for one, says that the agency is currently addressing each of the six recommendations from the coalition’s 2014 report. “It’s undeniable that NOAA Fisheries is more receptive to recreational fishing now than any other time in its history,” he said.

The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and its sportfishing partners are committed to working within each region and with each fisheries council to determine ways to implement new innovative approaches to federal fisheries management, and they’re calling for collaborative effort from state partners and the public. “Using a commercial fishing paradigm to manage recreational fisheries is holding back our economy, and the nasty fights on issues like red snapper keep anglers from engaging on critical national conservation fights, like state takeover of our federal public lands,” said Whit Fosburgh, TRCP president and CEO. “With NOAA’s renewed commitment to recreational anglers, there’s a lot we can do.”

Inspired by the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the TRCP is a coalition of organizations and grassroots partners working together to preserve the traditions of hunting and fishing.

by: Kristyn Brady

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This Could Be the Future of Federal Fisheries Management

Coalition reveals the findings from a series of workshops on alternative solutions for federal fisheries

Today at ICAST, the world’s largest sportfishing trade show, recreational fishing and conservation group leaders revealed the preliminary findings from a series of collaborative workshops on alternative approaches to federal fisheries management.

The same broad coalition behind the 2014 landmark report on recreational fisheries management worked closely with NOAA Fisheries, state game and fish managers, biologists, and researchers to identify ways to revise the current approach. Right now, federal fisheries managers set catch limits for both commercial and recreational sectors in a way that undervalues recreational fishermen and their $70-billion contribution to America’s economy. Innovative new solutions could give anglers more predictable seasons, boost conservation, and improve local economies in coastal communities and beyond.

CMac_talking_web — Image courtesy of TRCP.

“Although recreational anglers only catch two percent of the total fish harvested in U.S. waters, we create almost as many jobs as the commercial fishing industry”—455,000 jobs, in fact, said Mike Nussman, president and CEO of the American Sportfishing Association, the trade group that produces the ICAST conference and events. This year’s is their biggest show yet, with 13,000 attendees walking a 650,000-square-foot showroom packed with close to 600 exhibitors—a perfect backdrop for a discussion of new ideas.

The first workshop, facilitated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in Tampa this May, was geared towards identifying where existing federal fisheries management approaches fail to adequately accommodate the unique nature of recreational fisheries and specific ways to address these issues. The group discussed alternatives that are rooted in existing management practices currently used for fish and waterfowl at the state level, such as:

Managing for a harvest rate, rather than a quota that must be tracked in real time.
Spatial management, or allowing fishing out to certain depths or distances from shore, while making deeper waters off-limits to recreational harvest so brood stock can replenish.
Looking at temporary and long-term allocation shifts between the recreational and commercial sectors, which might include shifting some species from recreational to commercial allocation and others from commercial to recreational.
Developing new programs to gather better recreational harvest data or take advantage of existing voluntary harvest data.
Reducing release mortality with new technology or better education on existing tools.

These initial conclusions were presented to congressional staff and representatives of the environmental community at a second workshop this June in Washington D.C. The group also discussed the potential legislative and regulatory changes needed to achieve these possible alternatives. Some solutions possibly require changes to the existing federal fisheries law, but others could be addressed through collaboration with NOAA Fisheries.

“When the Magnuson-Stevens Act was written 40 years ago, recreational fishing was an afterthought in the statute, and it is unlikely that this Congress will get around to discussing reauthorization,” a process that might allow for beneficial updates, said Jeff Angers, president of the Center for Coastal Conservation. “But we’ve found friends at NOAA who are trying to help. There are things that can be done by an agency that’s willing to look at things a little differently.”

Russ Dunn, the national policy advisor on recreational fisheries at NOAA, added that the agency is currently addressing each of the six recommendations from the coalition’s 2014 report. “It’s undeniable that NOAA Fisheries is more receptive to recreational fishing now than at any other time in its history,” he said.

The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and its sportfishing partners are committed to working within each region and with each fisheries council to determine ways to implement new innovative approaches to federal fisheries management, and conservation leaders are calling for collaborative effort from state partners and the public. “Using a commercial fishing paradigm to manage recreational fisheries is holding back our economy, and nasty fights on issues like red snapper keep anglers from engaging on critical national conservation fights, like state takeover of our federal public lands,” said Whit Fosburgh, TRCP president and CEO. “With NOAA’s renewed commitment to recreational anglers, there’s a lot we can do.”

by: Paul Wilkins

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Picture This Crowd of Gear-Hungry Anglers When You Think of the Outdoor Recreation Economy

Weave your way through the crowd at ICAST and then try to tell us that recreational anglers don’t represent some serious spending power

It’s still common in Washington, D.C., to hear lawmakers dismiss the power of the outdoor recreation economy. You and I know that $646-billion figure by heart, and repeat it often, but more stubborn than facts is the belief that the extractive industries create well-paying jobs, while hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, mountain biking, and the hundreds of other activities that Americans pursue in the great outdoors supposedly prop up just a few fast food and convenience store chains.

The extractive industries do create good jobs, and we at TRCP believe, like Theodore Roosevelt himself, that “conservation means development as much as it does protection.” The keys are balance, science, and planning. But there are flat-landers who still can’t grasp that the outdoor economy employs over six million Americans—that’s right, more than the oil and gas and real estate industries combined.

Convention-floor-beehive_FB — Image courtesy of TRCP.

I challenge them to come to ICAST. This is the world’s largest sportfishing trade show. Put on by our friends at the American Sportfishing Association, this year’s show features 600 exhibitors on 650,000 square feet of floor space showing off some of the most innovative American companies in any industry.

Didn’t know you needed a Yeti Rambler Lowball? Poor soul. How else can you enjoy your bourbon on the river this summer? And when you buy it, you can take comfort in knowing you are supporting a great Austin company that manufactures its Tundra coolers in Iowa and Wisconsin.

Always wanted to try fly fishing? Simms is here showcasing their newest gear, from waders to sandals to shirts. Simms manufactures all of its waders in Bozeman, Montana, where they just expanded their manufacturing and shipping center by 14,000 square feet and will add 27 new jobs this year.

Fishing, hunting, and getting the next generation of Americans outdoors is big business. Even while the broader economy tanked during the great recession, the outdoor industry grew by 5 percent annually. Because who can walk out of their local Bass Pro Shops (a company that employs 20,000 people nationally, by the way) without a little something?

At ICAST this week, we’ll get the chance to meet the entrepreneurs responsible for creating great products that make it more fun to go fishing. But they are also creating thousands of jobs in communities across the country.

This is what I hope we can make our lawmakers understand.