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Genoa National Fish Hatchery is now the proud owner of a Friends Group! The hatchery has banded together with the La Crosse Fishery Resources Office and the La Crosse Fish Health Center to form a cooperative Friends Group called the Friends of the Upper Mississippi River Fishery Stations. This group of concerned citizens is working toward improving the status and health of fishery populations in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.

What is a Friends Group?

A Friends Group is:

• An advocate for local fish and wildlife populations and their continued health.

• A support group for local U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) fisheries offices and their mission.

• A formal, non-profit organization to support the mission of local Mississippi fisheries stations of the Service.

• A private and independent organization formed and managed by local citizens.

• A grassroots organization formed by private citizens who support their local Service fisheries office.

Friends groups are involved in many activities to support local fisheries and refuge offices. Here are a few, but certainly not all, of them:

• Plan, publish, and mail newsletters, brochures, and literature to support the mission of the local field fisheries offices.

• Provide aid, fund raising capabilities, and support for educational/outreach events.

• Spearhead campaigns and outreach events to support local fisheries offices.

• Provide volunteers that collect hands-on experience, while at the same time helping the field station accomplish its mission.

• Help plan, finance, and support projects that increase public use of the facility or bring benefits to the general public.

Where do they come from?

Friends are a lot like you and me: students, teachers, carpenters, bankers, nurses, professors, and retirees. The one thing that all these people have in common is that they care about fisheries as a natural resource, and work to protect it. Their concern for the resource encouraged them to organize a Friends group that is dedicated to promoting and assisting local fisheries programs.

Few people know that the fisheries stations in their area are part of a larger nationwide system, and that system currently lacks not only critical resources, but strong grass-roots political support. Friends groups can promote the Service fisheries program by helping their local community understand the mission of our local fisheries stations on the Mississippi River.

Resources:

There are many friends groups for the Fish and Wildlife Service listed on the Internet. Here are a few sample site addresses:

• The National Wildlife Refuge Support Groups Program (Friends)

• Fisheries Friends Initiative

For more information on how you can be involved, please contact: Friends of the Upper Mississippi Fisheries Services 555 Lester Ave Onalaska, WI 54650

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service