Working for a Better Tomorrow.To better protect and sustain the fisheries, water quality and healthy habitats needed to support recreational fishing, anglers will need to return to nature a little of what they have taken from it. With the help of fishing and conservation communities the Anglers for Conservation’s new executive director,
Mike Conneen, has been working to create opportunities for anglers to give back to nature.
Take for instance, later this year the AFC in partnership with Recycle Brevard will kick-off a monofilament fishing line clean up event. Can you think of a better way for anglers to help out nature? Not only does monofilament fishing line entrap and kill manatee, dolphin, birds, reptiles, fish and other marine creatures, mono line also takes hundreds of years to decompose.
Rodney Smith
President – Anglers for Conservation
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For more information about sponsorships for the “The Love Our Lagoon” Yard Sign Campaign, contact Mike Conneen.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
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Excerpts from the Executive Director – Mike Conneen
To See or Not to See the Signs
Water runs through Palm Bay, FL and it’s called Turkey Creek. It is part of a beautiful sanctuary that allows people to escape the day to day routine of life. I regularly paddle this creek in my Ocean Kayak to catch fish, take photos and relax. The creek itself is fed by freshwater runoff from inland areas and depending on the time of year; it could be high or low. My most recent paddle on the creek was almost short lived as I found an enormous downed tree laying across the entire creek. What would typically be a very cool obstacle for some was a sad sign for me. The tree had fallen because of the erosion brought on by high, rushing waters caused by the ever so increasing land runoff.
Just beyond this tree is a very visible sign asking people to stay in their canoe and off the bluff. While some may not relate this sign with the fallen tree, they both send the same message, and that is the fact that we are making a very noticeable and significant impact on our environment. What you do at home does, in effect, effect land miles away. Reducing water runoff on your property will help the environment both around you and far away.
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Meet Board Member – Warren Wnek
A lifelong resident of Brevard County Warren enjoys the beach and lagoon life to the fullest. Surfing fishing and sailing playing alongside the lagoon is just part of his being. His first efforts in conservation were supporting and obtaining petition signatures in support of Florida’s 1995 net ban. He was a contributor for gaining support for the opening of the Brevard Zoo. He went to many public schools supporting Brevard Zoo’s brick program and was active in the community builds for the zoo back in the early 90’s.
Warren is a founding member and past president of Anglers for Conservation, he believes that in order to save our lagoon, we as citizens need to change our attitude towards water and runoff. Working with families introducing them to sustainable angling the wonders of or lagoon is a great way to get them involved. Small actions by many people can have dramatic results.
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Anglers for Conservation is proud to announce the advanced Hook Kids On Fishing program, ATAC. Advanced Teen Anglers Camp will be a two-day camp geared towards teens 12-17. This camp will help fine tune the skills of any intermediate or beginner angler and also serve as a building block on what it means to be a conservationist. The anglers will be casting fly rods, spinning rods and baitcasters along with learning the retrieval techniques for each of these categories. Eight different stations over two days will cover fish handling, safety, species identification, conservation, boating etiquette, kayaking and much more all taught by experience local anglers. Lunch will be provided and a certificate of completion and goodie bag will be given to all who attend. More info to come. Register NOW!!
Dates:
ATAC #1 June 11th & 12th
ATAC #2 July 9th & 10th
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A Tale of Two NMZ’s
Written by Paul Macinnis
Nestled in the northern reaches of the Banana River is a 10,500-acre sanctuary for manatees called the Banana River No Motor Zone, or NMZ for short. Motorized vessels have been banned from the NMZ since 1994 meaning these bountiful waters are only accessed by adventurous souls willing to paddle long distances in canoes and kayaks. The NMZ has been a favorite fishing spot of mine for years.
The NMZ was not immune to the brown tide and fish kills that have ravaged the Indian River Lagoon system the last few years. Friends and I fished the NMZ in mid-April and it was, without doubt, my worst, most depressing trip ever. The normally clean water was an ugly brown and I doubt visibility was six inches.
Then in late May a funny thing happened!
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Summer Fertilizer Bans Start June 1
Skip The Fertilizer to Protect The Waters
That Make Florida Fun!
Written by Leesa Souto, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Marine Resources Council
The partners of the Be Floridian Now fertilizer education campaign remind
residents of the Indian River Lagoon watershed that you can’t apply nitrogen or phosphorous to your lawns and plants from June 1-September 30. But that doesn’t mean your grass will turn brown, shrivel up and die!
Garden centers throughout these communities offer a variety of “summer-safe” yard products that will help keep your landscape green and growing throughout our long, hot summer. Look for fertilizers with “0” as the first two numbers on the label (as in 0-0-6). These do not contain either nitrogen or phosphorous. More than 70% of these summer-safe products are made right here in Florida, so you are helping local businesses and our economy when you purchase them.
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Tom Rafican bought the fishing trip at the 2015 Protect Our Waters Fundraiser with Capt. Mike Holliday of Jensen Beach, Florida. Here’s his note to Captain Mike after a fun day a fishing.
Mike,
I really wanted to thank you for the incredible day on the water this past Wednesday. Frank Campbell and I were both blown away by your expertise and effort. Despite some critical issues with sea grass, you have an awesome location you call home. The million dollar homes are ok, but the habitat is awesome. Both of us loved the location, the company, the information and also the fishing. And by the way, while the fishing may have seemed tough for you, we each came away with a pair of slot snook along with a few assorted extras – what anincredible job! Thank you for your generous donation to Anglers for Conservation and for an inspiring day on the water.
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Take the time to write a letter to our congressmen. Let them know how you feel about the future of your environment. Hearing our concerns is the why they are in office. If you feel you are not being heard, remember to go out and change your vote. The power is in all of us.
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AFC’s Annual Protect Our Waters Fundraising Awards Party is set for Sunday, November 13th at Front Street Park’s Civic Center in Melbourne. We are very excited to hold this year’s event alongside the beautiful Indian River Lagoon. Stay tuned for more details…
If you are interested in joining the party committee, sponsoring the event, or donating to the silent auction, please contact Heather Sears, Development Director at 321-474-8202 or Heather@AnglersForConservation.org. |
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One of the many things of nature anglers enjoy is the many shorebirds seen day to day. We must work together to see that these creatures are better protected. The FSA works with communities to assure this happens.
The FSA has a cool eNewsletter, the Wrack Line. Check out their site at flshorebirdalliance.org. |
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Members and board members with unique skill sets have helped sustain the successful non-profit organization for decades. If you would like to serve on the AFC board, please contact, Nominating Committee Chair, Dominick Montanaro.
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Smile
Anglers for Conservation is now on Amazon Smile. In case you don’t know what Amazon Smile is, it is a place where you can buy all the great stuff from Amazon you normally do only they will now donate a portion of your sale to Anglers for Conservation!
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Go the TD Bank Way
Another way you can support AFC is by opening a TD Bank account. Or, if you already have one, mention that you would like to support Anglers for Conservation through TD Banks Affinity program. TD Bank will then make an annual contribution to AFC! Talk about a win/win!
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