Big donation will get even bigger

Fishing groups provide money for state's Blue Ribbon waters

The largest donation ever given to the Division of Wildlife Resources by an angling group was received Nov. 14.

That's when three anglers presented the agency with a $10,750 check from the Utah Stonefly Society and Cache Valley Anglers.

Left to right are Roger Wilson, DWR cold water sport fisheries coordinator; Walt Donaldson, DWR Aquatic Section chief; Dave Serdar of the Utah Stonefly Society; Cary Asper of the Utah Stonefly Society; and Paul Dremann, chairman of Utah's Blue Ribbon Fisheries Advisory Council.

Photo by Jeff Eschler

DWR biologists will use the money to improve fishing at waters in Utah that are part of the state's Blue Ribbon Fisheries program. Right now, the Weber River in northern Utah is their first choice. The DWR will use the money to buy land that anglers can use to access the river. The money will also be used to make habitat better for trout.

"What's really exciting is that these groups have actually provided more money than the original $10,750 donation," says Walt Donaldson, Aquatic Section chief for the DWR. "Now that we have this money, other federal dollars can be used to 'match' the donation."

Donaldson says the DWR should receive $12,000 to $30,000, depending on which federal program the donation qualifies for. That means the groups' donation will result in the DWR receiving a total of $22,000 to $40,000 that it didn't have before.

And all of that money will be used to improve fishing on the Weber River or at other Blue Ribbon waters in the state.

Dave Serdar of the Utah Stonefly Society says donations like this one are critical to making fishing even better in Utah. "It's absolutely critical that the DWR receive funding beyond the dollars anglers provide when they buy a fishing license," Serdar says. "Through the Federal Aid (matching dollars) program, any donation that's given can grow to as much as three times the original amount."

"I want to compliment these guys for raising this much money," says Roger Wilson, cold water sport fisheries coordinator for the DWR. Wilson is referring to Serdar and Cary Asper of the Stonefly Society, Paul Dremann, chairman of Utah's Blue Ribbon Fisheries Advisory Council, and all the members of the Stonefly Society and Cache Valley Anglers.

"We'll put the money to good use," Wilson says.

The Stonefly Society and Cache Valley Anglers raised the money through fly-tying and fly-fishing clinics they offered last spring.

More information about Utah's Blue Ribbon waters is available at wildlife.utah.gov/blueribbon.