Folks:
I have been told by Jim Martin that the Berkley
BCI awards for 2010 are still available, and he is very much interested
in bestowing them this year. Please make this program known to your
state clubs and canvass them for the nominations. There will be a $2000
cash award for the best conservation project for 2010. A similar call
for nominations will go out to BFN Presidents for nominations for the
$1500 (gear) award for the best angler recruitment/retention project.
I will also be placing an article in B.A.S.S.
Times and on the Bassmaster.com Conservation link to increase visibility
of this awards program. While these awards have normally be made during
the Classic, this year they will be made at the BFN National
Championship, the last week in October.
Although the nominations do not need to be
extremely detailed, they must address at a minimum each of the 4
criteria below. Descriptions should be fairly robust and complete,
including photos as appropriate, to clearly demonstrate why they are
potentially "award winning."
I leave it to each of you in your state to decide whether or not you
want the nominations to go thru you for a state roll-up or straight to
me, with the exception of statewide projects, which should be submitted
by you.
Deadline for submission is July 1, 2011. Projects
must be submitted by email, to me, and I will forward on to the Berkley
judges for consideration.
The criteria for the best BFN Conservation project
are:
1. Scope of project. How significant is this project? Will it
affect many people/communities or just a local lake? Will it affect
things for many years to come or will the benefits be short term. Will
this project set an example that will be picked up by others? Obviously
the projects with the most reach and longevity will be judged more
significant.
2. Partners. Was this project a partnership with other key
organizations or was it done solely by BFN members…and perhaps only a
few. Past winners involved the local community, the Department of
Natural Resources, local schools/universities, other fishing
clubs/conservation organizations etc. The more partners, the better in
terms of judging. More partners allow projects to have more significance
than those that are done in the short term with just a few people.
3. Creativity. Is this a new concept or simply cleaning up the
local boat ramp? Creative new ideas get extra credit for setting
examples that can be picked up by others, particularly when we publicize
the awards in B.A.S.S. Times, Bassmaster magazine and on
Bassmaster.com . We want to inspire others to pick up more challenging
and creative projects that have more significance.
4. Timing. A project will be judged based on what was done in
2010. However, some projects maybe multi-year projects and have
significance beyond what was done in 2010. So be sure to project
long-term results for those that will have lasting or repeated impacts.
However, a longer term project will still be judged by what was done
in 2010. Be advised however -- sometimes BCI gets projects that
were winners in past years with a small postscript…”Oh, and we did that
again in 2010.” Such an entry would not get much priority compared with
a major project initiated in 2010.
Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Noreen
Noreen K. Clough
Conservation Director
B.A.S.S. LLC
noreen.k.clough.-ND@bassmaster.com
O: 407-566-2373
C: 334-590-2617
1170 Celebration Blvd, Suite 200
Celebration, FL 34747