Wednesday, September 5, 2018

National Park Service Joins Effort to Promote Recreational Fishing and Boating

The National Park Service (NPS) has joined several federal agencies and private organizations, including NMMA, on an unprecedented memorandum of understanding (MOU) – which calls for the development and expansion of cooperation on planning and implementing mutually-beneficial projects and activities to promote recreational fishing and boating conducted on public lands and waterways.

Through the MOU, participating parties will work towards goals such as increased volunteerism on public lands, improved quality of aquatic and riparian resources, improved recreational fishing experiences, and increased educational programs for recreational fishing and fisheries. NPS management emphasizes visitor experience and the conservation of native species.

“The National Park Service welcomes more than 300 million visitors to national parks each year, many of whom come to spend time on the water,” said National Park Service Deputy Director Dan Smith. “Working with these organizations helps us generate more awareness of park resources and water recreation.”

The addition of the NPS to the MOU comes at a critical time. Participation in fishing has increased for the second straight year, according to the 2018 Special Report on Fishing. Key target audiences including Hispanics, youth, and women are all showing positive trends, placing an added focus on innovative methods to keeping new and diverse audiences engaged in the activity.

The detailed MOU is available here.