Guiding for the Future
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ROLE: Co-Founder and Program Development
Timeframe: 2018-2019
Deliverable": Guiding for the Future Program
THE NEED. Montana’s rivers are undergoing increased demands for water, recreation, and environmental services. These demands in the face of increased periods of drought and other stressors impact the rivers’ resilience and fisheries, while also translating into the increased potential for conflict among users.
The August 2016 closure of 183 miles of the upper Yellowstone River and its tributaries to all water-based recreation was a wake-up call to the fishing industry and other river users that: 1) business as usual will not suffice and 2) there is the need to step up as advocates for – and stewards of – the river.
THE PROGRAM. Guiding for the Future (G4F) aims to inspire dedicated stewardship of aquatic ecosystems while increasing knowledge, professionalism, and ethics of fishing guides, outfitters, and the fly-fishing industry. This has a direct link into angler recruitment, retention and reactivation. G4F will build a cadre of thoughtful, action-oriented guides who can get more people fishing and engaged in aquatic resources; communicate more effectively with clients, landowners and state agencies, and build support for angling as conservation in Montana.
G4F is a voluntary course of study and testing. Participating outfitters and guides will undergo a curriculum that strengthens competence, increases knowledge and skills, and establishes their commitment to helping steward the rivers on which their livelihoods depend. Participants will be evaluated and tested on their knowledge and performance. Successful completion of this course will provide participating guides, outfitters, and fly shops with a set of credentials that distinguish them to outfitters, clients, other river users, and agencies.
Led by the Fishing Outfitters Association of Montana (FOAM), and directed by a Steering Committee of guides, outfitters, conservation and agency leaders, this program serves as a new opportunity for fishing guides to become champions of the sport of angling and the aquatic resource now and into the future.
CORE VALUES & OBJECTIVES
Knowledge – Develop a rigorous, informative, hands-on, and replicable curriculum that engages fly fishing guides and is viewed as an important and valuable credential for their job and business.
Professionalism – Ensure program produces adept and skillful guides while also providing net positive benefits for participating guides, and tie industry into establishing these benefits (e.g., additional pro-deal percentage, better rates on liability insurance, etc.)
Ethics – Improve communications among fishing guides, fly fishing industry, management agencies, landowners, the angling public and other recreational user groups to increase cooperation, reduce conflict, and improve fisheries.
Stewardship – Create a corps of involved fishing guides who can routinely undertake basic water quality, flow measurements, and fisheries monitoring efforts under the direction of state agency personnel. Provide guides with tools to engage their clients to become advocates and stewards of rivers and aquatic systems.
OUTCOMES & EVALUATION. During this first pilot year, we expect to graduate 25-30 guides through the G4F program, which will culminate in a 3-day practicum held May 6-8th at the B Bar Ranch in Emigrant, Montana. The focus of instruction will be on the upper Missouri and Yellowstone River watersheds.
The inaugural session will be evaluated and strengthened based on in-depth interviews with students, instructors, and fisheries and angling professionals that will be asked to audit the program. Based on learnings from the evaluation process, the program will expand to other watersheds in year two (2020) and beyond.
It is fully anticipated that the G4F program will be of interest to other states. In 2023, Maine intiated a G4F-based program for its marine fishereis. G4F will continue to make all of its program elements fully available to states interested in replicating the program in their state.
