Aurora Bassmasters Become First Canadian Club to Utilize ACT:
Thanks to the Dienne Wenzel the manager of Conservation Special Projects with BASS/ESPN Outdoors, the Aurora Bassmasters are happy to announce that our first Ontario BASS Federation Nation ACT alert is now active! You can check it out here:
So What is ACT?
ACT represents the Angler Conservation Team (ACT) supported by Ramada Worldwide and coordinated through BASS. ACT is a network of leisure anglers and other concerned conservationists from across the United States and Ontario who may not want to join a Bassmaster club or even BASS but who would still like to volunteer to protect and enhance fish and wildlife habitats.
ACT volunteers are invited to help Ontario BASS Federation Nation clubs and their members perform a variety of conservation projects. ACT can offer our clubs an opportunity to obtain a few extra hands to help them perform grassroots projects such as building and placing fish habitats, planting native aquatic vegetation, roadside clean up projects, tree plantings, erosion control projects and improving angler access to waterways.
When visitors to the ACT webpage page are looking for projects they will see a map of the US and states where the ACT program is active. Originally there was a computer glitch that made it so Canadians could not access details on those conservation projects in Ontario, but now they can – through a direct link on the top left of this page: http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/bassmaster/conservation/news/story?page=b_con_news_ACT_Alert_map&ACT
The first ACT announcement with details on the Aurora Bassmasters’ roadside clean up already went out to each of the 42 Ontario ACT members we have so far. An additional reminder e-mail blast announcement will be sent out by Ms Wenzel the week of the scheduled clean up.
Conservation Director’s Plea To Fellow OBFN Presidents and Club Conservation Directors:
I would really like to demonstrate to our friends south of the border how active OBFN clubs are here in Canada. If you look at the listing of projects from state to state you will notice that some states have none, some have one or two, but not many have a big long list describing their Conservation Projects. Ontario could be the exception! We could stand out with more projects than any state in the Union if each of our Canadian clubs participated … and it’s so easy to do. All you have to do is submit details of the project. When, Where, What work volunteers will do, Goal(s) of the project, what they need to bring and a main contact name and email address.) If you have a picture of the project (from a previous year – or of a similar project) you can include that. You can send this all directly to me and I can take care of it for your club. Or you can submit directly to dienne.wenzel@bassmaster.com and Dienne can post your project on the site.
Not only will this service offer you a chance at attracting extra volunteers, it will also serve to offer your club excellent public exposure at no cost. This positive media publicity demonstrates your club’s commitment to improving the natural environment around us not just to other BASS members but the public at large. So, even if you think you have enough club members to perform your project I would ask that you still consider listing it through ACT. The positive PR it will bring for your club and the OBFN will be well worth it.
Please help us spread the word through your own club sites and even by word of mouth. The more volunteers from Ontario that we can help get signed up to ACT, the better Let the public know that if they are interested in becoming an ACT volunteer they can read about it on the www.bassmaster.com site under the Conservation link and sign up from there. For helping out ACT volunteers receive a free T shirt, thanks to Ramada, the title sponsor of this program. Once they see what a great group your bass club is by working alongside your members, they may well be interested in joining your chapter, so the ACT program does have the potential to increase your membership. It is important to note however, that the goal of ACT initiative is not to sign up more members of BASS, the BASS Federation Nation or even your club – but to serve as a way for the public to contribute to the future of our natural resources... no strings attached.
Thanks everyone for your cooperation and I look forward to seeing lots of Ontario based ACT projects on the Bassmaster site. I would recommend that you begin to list your projects right away – even if they will not take place until later in the year. Let me know if I can help out in any way.
Wil Wegman
OBFN Conservation and Media Director
wil.wegman@rogers.com
