YDCCF Gives Back to Places Anglers Care About

The Board of YDCCF met again on March 6, 2018 and approved another $20,000 for eight new grants to projects in Belize, Chile, Louisiana, Mexico, Mongolia, and Montana. These newest grants are illustrative of YDCCF’s continued commitment to fisheries restoration, protection and education, and community assistance. Groups funded include the Madison Conservation District in Ennis, Montana; the Taimen Conservation Fund in the Eg Watershed, Mongolia; Anglers Benefiting Louisiana’s Estuaries in St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes, Louisiana; Torres del Paine Legacy Fund in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile; and the Punta Allen Primary School in Punta Allen Mexico.

YDCCF provides a mechanism for all anglers to support the destinations and communities they care about, and help other nonprofits and businesses connect with local communities on-the-ground. As anglers, this work not only fulfills the responsibility to be good stewards of fisheries resources, it also defines our legacy for future generations.

On hearing of their grant award Charlie Conn, Executive Director of The Taimen Fund (TTF), commented "TTF greatly admires YDCCF's commitment to work with local communities to protect fisheries worldwide. We are honored to receive a grant from YDCCF and look forward to growing a long lasting partnership with a committed organization."

“Giving back is the right thing to do, and this Foundation is the perfect mechanism that allows our company and our clients to make a difference in so many of these areas,” says Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures Co-Founder Jim Klug. "The Yellow Dog model has always included philanthropy, and now through YDCCF, we can support more relevant projects and leverage even more money in the communities where we work, fish and travel.”

YDCCF Grant Awards
March 6, 2018

Madison Conservation District, Ennis, Montana
YDCCF awarded a grant to the Madison Conservation District to restore and enhance riparian vegetation along Jack Creek and to improve in-stream habitat within Jack Creek by re-establishing riffle and pool stream structure. Stream and riparian restoration and enhancement activities are intended to support existing fisheries values for this important tributary to the Madison River and provide opportunities for the re-introduction of Arctic grayling.

Angler's Benefitting Louisiana's Estuaries (ABLE)
ABLE is a non-profit organization that engages in coastal restoration and environmental education activities in Louisiana. The organization has been heavily involved in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, where the community's thriving commercial and recreational fishing industries are continually threatened by the degradation of its fragile coastal environment. YDCCF provided a grant to ABLE to engage local students in environmental education programming that will encourage good environmental stewardship along the community's vulnerable coast. Participants will not only gain technical knowledge and hands-on experience regarding local fisheries and the coastal environment, but will also learn how to be responsible citizens of Louisiana's coast.

The Taimen Fund
YDCCF provided a grant to assist The Taimen Fund (TTF) for their Riverkeeper program in the Eg Watershed, Hovsgol Province, Mongolia. The River Keeper Program is an ambitious anti-poaching project spanning a total of seven different villages throughout the Eg Watershed, along approximately 120 miles of river. The Riverkeepers employed in the program are local herders that spend a great amount of their time caring for their animals along the riverbanks of the Eg River and its tributaries. These individuals, with generations of historical experience in the watershed are stewards of the land and the river as well.

Toledo Exposure & Wil Mehia, Belize
Toledo Exposure (TE) is the only organization in the country of Belize that is dedicated solely to social and environmental justice using multi-media as a tool. Volunteers from TE go out in the field gather stories and expose what is happening in our society from an environmental and social justice standpoint. YDCCF provided a second grant to help TE and Wil Mehia continue their efforts to patrol Southern Belize to monitor for illegal fishing. Funding will also support two PSA's to educate people about the setting of gillnets and how it affects the fishing and health of the fisheries.

Torres del Paine Legacy Fund, Chile
YDCCF provided a grant to the Torres del Paine Lagacy Fund to establish appropriate infrastructure and interpretive information critical to minimizing visitor impacts and enhancing appreciation of the unique but fragile wetland ecosystems that comprise Torres del Paine National Park. With funding from YDCCF, the Legacy Fund will construct a boardwalk in a highly trafficked but sensitive segment of the popular “W” circuit, as well as design and install interpretive displays that communicate the critical features of the surrounding ecosystems to the estimated 80,000 outdoor enthusiasts that hike this iconic trail every year. The completed project will offer an improved hiking experience that also protects and celebrates the very landscapes park visitors come to enjoy, and furthermore provides a valuable example of how diverse destination stakeholders can come together in collective stewardship to protect and enhance cherished natural heritage.

Discretionary Grants
Chica de Mayo, Bozeman, Montana: YDCCF provided a sponsorship for Chica de Mayo, an annual women’s fly fishing event in Bozeman, Montana which encourages girl and women to fish.

Punta Allen Primary School, Punta Allen, Mexico: YDCCF has awarded a new grant to the Punta Allen Primary School restore the palapa roof where the kids have lunch, and convert a storage room to a computer classroom.

Yes for Responsible Mining, Montana: YDCCF awarded a grant to Yes for Responsible Mining, a coalition of Montana conservation and sportsman groups working to pass a ballot initiative in November 2018 that would allow the state the ability deny permits for new metals mines that would require perpetual water treatment to address surface water pollution from heavy metals and/or acid mine drainage.

Guest UserMarch 16, 2018