FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 13, 2010
Contact: Doug Aloisi, 608-689-2605
Local Fisheries Friends Group and U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Fisheries Offices Team up to Sponsor Kids Fishing Event on Saturday May 22, 2010
Media are invited to enjoy a day alongside the Mississippi River with excited youth as they gain fishing tips from the experts, and then put them into practice in a stocked hatchery pond.
Interested media should contact Doug Aloisi, Genoa National Fish Hatchery (Genoa, Wisconsin) manager, at 608-689-2605, to arrange a site visit. The event will be from 8:30 am to 12 pm.
You can expect to see roughly 200 area youth ages 6-12, and their parents as they rotate among 4 different learning stations. The four learning stations will concentrate on fishing ethics and conservation, fish anatomy, fish behavior and habitats, and jig tying. After an hour of learning they will be set loose on a hatchery pond stocked with 1,500 10-14 inch rainbow trout to test their new found fishing knowledge.
This is the eighth year of an annual event sponsored by the Friends of the Upper Mississippi River Fisheries Services and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) fishery program offices that they support. These local Fishery offices are the LaCrosse Fish Health Center, the LaCrosse National Fish and Conservation Office and the Genoa National Fish Hatchery. There are 3 FWS fishery offices in the LaCrosse area, due to its proximity to the Mississippi River, and the diverse fishery populations and habitats that the big river holds.
The LaCrosse Fish Health Center was founded in 1962, and services the entire Great Lakes/Big Rivers Region of the upper Midwest, providing fish health screening and wild fish health surveys on selected wild fish populations.
The LaCrosse National Fish and Conservation Office was founded in 1995, and its mission is to conserve, enhance, and protect aquatic ecosystems in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois and to help natural resource managers from state, tribal, and federal agencies, as well as concerned citizens involved in achieving this mission.
Operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Genoa National Fish Hatchery has been in existence since 1932 with the creation of the Upper Mississippi River Wildlife and Fish Refuge. Its mission is working with partners to restore and maintain fish and other aquatic resources for the benefit of the American public.
The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.
