Bill Klyn (left) of Patagonia presents Yellowstone Park Foundation
Executive Director Paul Zambernardi (right) with a $12,000 check.
Below is a press release that recently appeared on the Yellowstone Park Foundation website. Patagonia is one the few brands in the fly fishing industry who make this level of commitment to fish and habitat protection.
February 26, 2008: The Yellowstone Park Foundation recently received further help from outdoor clothing and gear manufacturer Patagonia to fund the Fly Fishing Volunteers Program in Yellowstone. Patagonia presented the nonprofit Foundation with a check yesterday for $12,000 to complete funding for this program, which will assist Park fisheries biologists with research and conservation efforts through 2009.
The gift from Patagonia represents the final donation of proceeds from the sale of Yellowstone cutthroat trout t-shirts, through their worldwide sales network. The popular t-shirts, which featured James Prosek original artwork and sold out in 2007, were part of Patagonia’s World Trout Initiative -- an endeavor to identify the individuals and groups working to protect native fish, to tell their story, and to support their conservation efforts
Yellowstone’s native fish populations are being negatively impacted by competition from -- and predation by -- non-native fish species, along with whirling disease and prolonged drought. Much of the Park’s aquatics staff have been reassigned to address these crises, leaving a large number of the Park’s fisheries untended. To help fill this gap the Yellowstone Park Foundation established the Fly Fishing Volunteers Program in 2003 to fund program supplies, laboratory analysis of samples, and the hiring of two Volunteer Coordinators.
Under the guidance of these Coordinators and Yellowstone’s Supervisory Fisheries Biologist, volunteer anglers collect biological data on Yellowstone’s fish populations by recording the species composition, general health, condition, and age of fish caught. They also help gather non-lethal fin clip samples for genetic analysis and assist in tagging studies to facilitate fish population research.
In 2007, 90 volunteers contributed more than 1,750 hours to collect valuable data from Yellowstone’s rivers, streams and lakes.
“Patagonia has not only provided much-needed funds for this important program,” said Yellowstone Park Foundation Executive Director Paul Zambernardi. “Through their global sales network, catalogs, and website, they have helped raise public awareness about the serious threats faced by Yellowstone’s native trout.”
The $12,000 check was presented by Patagonia to the Yellowstone Park Foundation at the Fly Fishing Film Tour’s stop in Bozeman, Montana yesterday. It follows earlier donations from Patagonia to the Foundation, for a variety of fisheries and wildlife conservation projects, totaling more than $40,000 over the past five years.
Those interested in volunteering for the Yellowstone Fly Fishing Volunteers Program should contact Molly Pickall at the Yellowstone Park Foundation at (406)586-6303 or mpickall@ypf.org
Learn more about Patagonia’s World Trout Initiative >> http://www.patagonia.com/usa/patagonia.go?assetid=10153
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