Grant Profiles

Examples of the breadth an impact of our small grants program, and the organizations they support. Go to full list

Habitat Restoration

Bighorn River Side Channel Reactivation, Bighorn Alliance

For decades, Montana’s Bighorn River has captured the essence of fly fishing for wild trout.  Clear water, willing wild trout and undeveloped surroundings make a true American treasure which the Bighorn Alliance strives to protect. 

Many historic Bighorn River side channels currently only flow during high water because they have lost most of their connectivity with the main channel. In 2020, the AFFTA Fisheries Fund gave a grant to the Bighorn River Alliance for research to identify and plan for restoration of four significant disconnected or low-functioning side channels on the Bighorn River in Montana. Based on the successful reactivation of two side channels in 2021, AFF provided an additional grant to support reactivation of 12 additional side channels, restoring a total of 5.5 miles of critical spawning and juvenile rearing habitat.

Youth Engagement

Menikanaehkem Youth Initiative, Menominee Indian Reservation

The Menominee Indian Reservation lies on 235,000 acres of ancestral lands in east-central Wisconsin. Recognizing the challenges faced by their community, including opioid addiction, poverty, and high rates of suicide, the community strives to restore harmony in their future leaders through the therapeutic experiences of nature to guide them to positive choices, and healthy lifestyles. Youth leadership activities include fly fishing, ice and spear fishing, rice harvesting, indigenous games, and others.

Thanks to the energies of Tribal member Bryant Waupoose and others, the Native Youth Leadership Program has received outstanding support for the fly fishing industry and AFF was delighted to provide a small grant award in Spring 2022.

“We traveled from our homelands located in Northeast Wisconsin to Yellowstone National Park visiting other tribal lands along the path such as Lakota people in Sisseton, SD and the Shoshone and Arapaho people of the Wind River Reservation in WY. Our youth had a chance to spend time with inspirational people such as elders, tribal leaders, and grassroots organizers that are working on many issues we face including loss of language and culture, identity, and natural resources.

“This unique opportunity allowed us to spend time on their homelands learning of the ways they are preserving their cultural practices, water resources, and sacred places. This also gave the opportunity to do some Fly-Fishing in some of the most beautiful places on turtle island. Our youth was able to meet a diverse group of individuals from backgrounds of fly-fishing and conservation and received encouragement on how this journey can raise awareness on the issues we face today. “

Applied Science

Bonefish tagging, Bonefish & targon Trust

Over the course of the 2021-22 bonefish spawning season, Bonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT), with support from the AFFand others, made several promising advances in its efforts to locate bonefish pre-spawning aggregation (PSA) sites in the Florida Keys.

BTT scientists are utilizing acoustic telemetry and the historical knowledge of veteran fishingguides to find these nearshore areas where bonefish school by the thousands before migrating offshore to spawn in deepwater. BTT has previously identified spawning sites in the Bahamas, Belize, and Cuba.

Initially, BTT Florida Keys Initiative Manager Dr. Ross Boucek and his team tagged 50 bonefish and logged more than 1,400 unique bonefish detections, of which 965 were at a site where several guides reported a potential PSA. Nine bonefish detected at the suspected PSA site had been tagged at distant flats, including a fish tagged 50 miles away.

The focus of 2022-2023 is to pinpoint exact location, and begin sampling spawning fish there. Teams have tagged anadditional 50 bonefish, and moved all 37 receivers into this refined potential spawning area. Two spawns have alreadyoccurred in this location allowing scientists to narrow the location from 25 square mile area to an area approximately one-half mile in size.

Community Science

Alaska Fish Habitat Mapping and Community Science Project, trout unlimited

Project is an ongoing effort by Trout Unlimited-Alaska staff and volunteers to expand Alaska’s Anadromous Waters Catalog by documenting previously unknown anadromous waters and species in Southeast Alaska. During the 2022 field season, the project engaged 18 volunteer observers for a total of 172 hours over 10 survey days and conducted 4 additional surveys without volunteer assistance. In aggregate, these surveys resulted in 16 AWC nominations for species and/or waters additions, with a net total of over 73,500 feet (nearly 14 miles) of anadromous habitat in 20 water bodies. With the 2022 nominations, the Project has added over 356,000 feet (over 67.4 miles) of waters/species to the AWC since its inception in 2018. For 2023, we will be increasing our outreach / engagement with area volunteers in order to expand the scale of the project and continue to add anadromous fish habitat use information to the AWC.

While Alaska Department of Fish and Game is tasked with surveying and updating the AWC, it is estimated that only 50% of the habitat used by anadromous species in the region is currently documented. Through the Project, TU has the opportunity to add observational data to the AWC and secure conservation measures for currently unprotected anadromous fish habitat, as well as add to the general body of knowledge regarding fish habitat distribution by surveying un- and under-documented water bodies in Southeast Alaska.

The Project also seeks to engage interested individuals and groups (anglers, fishing guides, fish enthusiasts, etc.) in a community science observation and data collection effort to add to the known anadromous fish resources of Alaska.

Professional Training

Guiding for the Future, Fishing Outfitters Association of Montana

Montana’s rivers are the life blood of the state’s environment and economy. They continue to face increased demands to supply water, recreation, and environmental services. These demands — particularly in the face of increasing periods of drought and other stressors — affect the rivers’ resilience and fisheries, as well as the potential for conflict among users.

The August 2016 closure of 183 miles of the Upper Yellowstone River and its tributaries in Montana to all water-based recreation was a wake-up call to the fishing industry and other river users that: 1) business as usual will not suffice, and 2) there is the need for certified guides and professionals to step up as advocates for, and stewards of, the rivers and watersheds they depend on.

The Guiding for the Future (G4F) program was developed by the Fishing Outfitters Association of Montana to help address these challenges.

G4F is not about landing the most or biggest fish, but rather emphasizes knowledge, ethics, conservation, and a commitment to stewardship as core responsibilities of a professional guide. The program provides advanced levels of knowledge and skill development for professional fishing guides and aims to inspire dedicated stewardship of aquatic ecosystems while increasing the knowledge and professionalism of guides, outfitters, and the fly-fishing industry as a whole.