February Newsletter 2017

February is our anniversary month, and this year we are proud to celebrate our 10^th anniversary. Hard to believe as time goes by so fast (yes, we are having fun!). Throughout the year we plan to have various commemorations of our record as a successful supporter of salmon conservation across five provinces, but also as a strong partner oriented organization in Canada, and internationally.

We have a lot to celebrate! As of 2017, the ASCF will have contributed $5.7 million to nearly 400 projects over five provinces with an overall project value of $30 million. In 10 years of experience several benefits of the federal investment through the ASCF have been demonstrated:

• An effective and transparent program is provided, at low cost
• Key NGOs and Aboriginal interests are involved in all decision processes
• Community recreation opportunities strengthened
• Increased jobs and volunteer contribution have resulted

Our volunteer of the month is Michael Pollard of our Nova Scotia Advisory Committee. Mike is a long-term member of the Nova Scotia Federation of Anglers and Hunters and a strong proponent of improving conservation of wild Atlantic salmon. He is relatively new to the Advisory Committee but enjoys the experience and highly supportive of volunteer participation in the ASCF process. Thanks Mike!!

For February, we are recognizing the major contributions to salmon conservation underway through the Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University.  We are helping Dr. Marie Clément investigate development of a water temperature monitoring program in the Northern range of Atlantic salmon. The project was launched in May 2016 with the ultimate goal of creating a community-driven initiative to improve prediction of the effects of climate change on salmon populations.

The entire ASCF teams looks forward to strengthening the conservation partnership circle in 2017. Together, we shall make our tenth anniversary a great conservation year!

Yours in conservation,

Stephen Chase