|
|
Saturday, May 17, 2008
|
|
ADD CAMPAIGNS DNR eyes former license holders, young anglers in bid to grow fishing
BREEZY POINT - The kids cast their lines from the dock into the chilly waters of Pelican Lake.
On occasion, they reeled in a small sunfish or bass. But more often then not, excitement got the better of them - when the bobber started dancing, one hurriedly reeled in, only to find nothing on the hook, including the bait.
"I quit!" one frustrated youngster shouted after another one got away.
But, moments later, the young angler had his line back in the water.
Just the way the DNR would like it.
The agency has unveiled two new campaigns - one to retain anglers and another to make it easier to introduce youths to angling.
The DNR, which issued nearly 1.4 million fishing licenses last year, recently mailed 40,000 reminder postcards to former anglers who did not purchase a 2007 fishing license. The postcards urge these anglers to rediscover fishing and boating and to purchase their licenses.
The postcard campaign was being complemented by billboard advertising across the Twin Cities metro area, including a daily countdown to last weekend's fishing opener on digital billboards. Radio advertising and promotions with the St. Paul Saints and the Minnesota Vikings also are in the works. Vikings players Steve Hutchinson and Jim Kleinsasser were in the Brainerd area for numerous functions during the Governor's Fishing Opener at Breezy Point Resort and Pelican Lake earlier this month.
"Fishing is incredibly popular in Minnesota," said C.B. Bylander, DNR Fish and Wildlife Division outreach chief. "Yet the percentage of Minnesotans who fish is declining. As a result, we are looking at proactive new ways to recruit anglers and retain those we have."
The DNR's direct mail, billboard and radio advertising efforts are collaborations with the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation and Minnesota-based Wildlife Forever. RBFF is helping offset costs of the direct mail and billboard efforts. It also is investing $1 million in radio advertising in Minnesota and 29 other states to support its Take Me Fishing campaign.
Bylander said one of this year's new slogans - The Fish Bites the Lure, and Yet, You Get Hooked - was developed by an advertising agency hired through RBFF. The slogan will be used by natural resources agencies in 30 states this spring.
Nationally, angling participation is down. In 1996, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated the national angler population at 35.2 million. In 2006, the estimate had fallen to 30 million, a 12 percent decrease.
In Minnesota, fishing license sales have remained relatively stable at 1.3 million to 1.5 million each year. However, despite bucking the national trend in license sales, interest in angling has not kept pace with population growth.
"Years ago, nearly 40 percent of Minnesotans age 16 and over purchased a fishing license," Bylander said. "Today, it's about 28 percent."
Jenifer Matthees, coordinator of the DNR's angler retention project, said license sales help support the natural resources that everyone enjoys.
"We want to retain those already hooked on fishing while encouraging others to discover the escape, relaxation and connections fishing brings in their lives," Matthees said. "Nationally, there's growing concern that everyone, especially kids, are increasingly disconnected with nature."
That brings us to the DNR's other campaign - introducing youth to angling via new Web tools being prepared by MinnAqua and Fishing In The Neighborhood programs.
During the fishing opener on the docks at Breezy Point Resort, about 35 Kinship Partners kids fished, paying little attention to the cold and gloom of the day. Thanks to the MinnAqua program and the Pelican Lake Conservation Club, the kids received free rods and reels and an education on fishing fundamentals, including how to bait a hook, cast, identify fish species and be a good steward of the environment.
"Taking children outside and using fishing as a fun way to explain environmental awareness and natural resource ownership is a rewarding experience," said Roland Sigurdson, MinnAqua education specialist. "But finding a family friendly place to fish where children really catch fish isn't always easy."
FiN, which serves the seven-county metropolitan area, and MinnAqua, the DNR's aquatic education program, are assembling guides that list ideal places to introduce young anglers to fishing. FiN's booklet will list 50 metropolitan area small lakes and ponds that are managed by the FiN program. MinnAqua's online guide will list family friendly lakes in greater Minnesota.
Listings will contain information about species available and successful fishing techniques; driving directions; kid- and family friendly amenities such as fishing piers, trails, bathrooms, parking, playgrounds, picnic areas, beaches and concession stands; and handicapped accessibility.
FiN works with local partners such as park and recreation departments to create safe family settings in residential areas. FiN will stock fish, conduct population assessments, install fishing structures and restore shoreline habitat.
For information about these guides, fishing licenses and to find family friendly fishing lakes, check online at www.mndnr.gov/takemefishing.
BRIAN S. PETERSON, outdoors editor, may be reached at brian.peterson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5864.
To Subscribe to the Brainerd Dispatch, Click Here.
Note: Comments are not edited and don't represent the views of The Brainerd Dispatch. Please read our posting rules in the terms of service policy. To report a post that may be inappropriate, click the triangle alert icon.
|
|
|
|
Thinking about a New Job?
These employers want you!
|
Loading...
|
|
|
Today's Best Classifieds:
|
|
|
|
|
|
