Catch & Release Foundation

[Lee Borgersen]

 Our Fishing Philosophy
 
 
 ?Release one fish every time you go fishing, you will feel good, and you will also be doing your part to revitalize a resource for generations to come.?
 
 
Set A Sensible Limit 

It was once a widely held belief that angling had little or no effect on fish populations?. Today we realize that our fishing resources have been seriously depleted.  Even our seemingly limitless ocean reserves have proven to be vulnerable over to fishing.

Fortunately, we have begun to see a fundamental shift to values by a public that is beginning to regard fishing more as recreation than as a source of food.

We believe that our fishing resources, like all our natural resources, are too valuable to be wasted.  With today?s explosion of angling technology, sophisticated equipment and intense fishing pressure, it has become more important than ever to make a commitment to the future by limiting our harvest and preserving our water resources.  Only in this way will future generations be able to experience the enjoyment of quality angling and the physical and spiritual refreshment that is to be found along our many streams, rivers, lakes and shorelines.
 
 
 Stewardship 
The Catch & Release Foundation is a non-profit organization that was created to promote and preserve the sport of fishing throughout the United States

The Foundation serves to advise, educate and develop support research and management programs designed to conserve and improve our aquatic resources.

Secondly, we seek to instill by all means and through all available media a greater awareness and appreciation of these natural resources as they affect our society and out well-being as individuals.

Our country is blessed with a wealth of water resources whose natural, recreational and historical significance enrich our quality of life.  As the 20th century is about to end, we can look back and see that we have been thoughtless, even destructive in our treatment of this invaluable heritage.

The Catch & Release Foundation is committed to helping develop realistic programs for long-term solutions to the environmental problems that threaten these resources.

Our ?Adopt-A-Stream? programs unite company managers, employees, local citizen groups, conservation groups, nature clubs, and youth groups to physically improve aquatic habitat on public and corporate lands and enhance recreational opportunities.

Financial and technical assistance is provided for stream and lake management programs which make natural areas accessible to the public and serve other outdoor enthusiasts as well as the fisherman.  Special priority is given to those projects that are suited to serve school students as natural resource ?laboratories? for classroom studies.

 
 
 Investing in The Future   
Through the promotion of fishing, The Catch & Release Foundation seeks to stimulate youngster awareness of our aquatic resources and assure recruitment of adequate numbers of new anglers in the sport.  Theses beginners of today are the anglers of tomorrow who will fund and support our aquatic resources into the 21st century.

Through the classroom seminars, field trips and visits to hatcheries, the Foundation word with elementary and secondary schools to initiate or broaden conservation related aspects of curricula.

Fishing clinics and derbies organized by the Catch & Release Foundation and supporting sponsors provide children with an opportunity to experience the enjoyment of angling in an atmosphere of fun and family involvement.

In urban areas theses fishing events provide equipment and encouragement to youngsters that might not otherwise have the chance to develop an interest in fishing. As featured guests, top professional anglers lend their efforts to the cause.

Clearly, there is no area of effort in our overall program more important, or having greater potential for the future than helping our young people to develop a fundamental awareness and understanding of our basic natural resources.  We believe the best way to initiate this learning and appreciation is to enable a young person to spend a day fishing with friends or family and enjoy the bountiful rewards this experience has to offer.

For a youngster the simple act of returning a caught fish to the water to fight another day represents a beginning in the process of discovery and awareness that leads to an understanding of the inter-relatedness of all living things and the importance of mans wise stewardship of his environment.

These young people comprise more than one third of our population. With a greater than ever percentage living in the cities and suburbs, it is becoming increasingly difficult to reach these urbanites with a conservation-education message.  At the same time, a growing population exerts and ever-increasing demand on our natural resources.  The development of a conservation ethic among our young people is critical if theses resources are to be preserved and enjoyed by future generations.

If you have ever caught a fish and enjoyed it? if you want your children to have the same chance? if you have ever watched a clear stream flowing over clean rocks and gravel and fell that this is one of the good things of the earth? if you want to help the future of America, The Catch & Release Foundation is one vehicle aimed at saving this heritage.