History, water, and an eye toward the future came together in Fredericksburg this summer at the Izaak Walton League’s 2018 national convention. It’s the one time each year that Ikes from across the country gather to learn from our speakers - and one another. It’s also a lot of fun!

Following are some convention highlights. You can find more photos and speaker videos at facebook.com/iwla.org. For the full convention experience, make plans to join us next year in Des Moines!

Making a Difference for Clean Water

The League launched the Clean Water Challenge at our 2017 national convention with one goal: to monitor water quality at 100,000 more stream sites by 2022.

Clean water has been a League priority since sport men founded the organization in 1922. It’s impossible to over-emphasize the importance of clean water to every aspect of our lives. Yet most Americans simply assume the water’s fine - until it’s running orange or smells like raw sewage, says IWLA Clean Water Program Director Danielle Donkersloot. That’s where information from volunteer stream monitors comes in. “There is a saying that you can’t protect what you can’t measure,” Donkersloot says. “We need the science that shows a stream wasn’t always orange, didn’t always have this smell -and it’s critical to have this data before a problem occurs.”

Whose responsibility is it to monitor and document the conditions of our waterways? Most people assume it’s the government’s job, but that’s not the whole story. Responsibility for water quality monitoring is spread out among numerous federal, state, and local agencies, and yet the majority of our waterways go unmonitored and undocumented - more than 70 percent, in fact!

That’s where volunteer water quality monitors come in. The League’s Save Our Streams (SOS) program trains volunteers to collect quality data that can be shared with state and local government agencies and community groups. The goal of the Clean Water Challenge goes beyond simply measuring water quality. We want to restore and protect the streams that flow through our communities.

Measuring Success

The League identified steps that members, chapters, and the national office could take in year one that would help achieve the broad Challenge goal. These short-term goals focused on training new stream monitors, building partnerships locally to grow the volunteer pool, and conducting at least one stream-related activity.

Between July 2017 and June 2018, member and chapter achievements included:

• 39 chapters conducted some type of stream-related activity; half of these chapters monitored at least 1 stream site.
• 10 chapters monitored a stream for the first time, and 8 chapters added at least 1 more monitoring site.
• 27 chapters met with a potential partner group to discuss how they might work together to conserve streams.

Results from the national office included:

• Trained more than 400 new volunteers to monitor water quality across the country.
• Launched a new citizen science project to highlight the impact of road salt (chloride) on streams.
• More than 1,250 Stream Selfies - snapshots of stream health and potential monitoring sites - from 49 states were posted on our national streams map.
• Developed strong partnerships with the Waterkeeper Alliance, Water Data Collaborative, and other groups.
• Developed public service announcements (PSAs) that aired more than 67,700 times across the country.

We’ve made good progress. Now we need to build on that progress through the following actions.

Pick a Starting Point

If you are new to stream monitoring, we’d love to teach you how to monitor water quality using the League’s Save Our Streams methods. We designed our program specifically for volunteers with little to no prior stream monitoring experience. However, if you’ve been trained by another group using a different stream monitoring method, that’s good too! Continue the great work you’re doing.

SOS focuses on sampling aquatic macroinvertebrates - the critters that live on the bottom of our streams - because the composition of stream life provides the most comprehensive and long-term assessment of stream health. But there is plenty of valuable information you can collect about water quality using very simple techniques. You can make visual observations about what’s in the water or dip a test strip to measure some chemical levels. This information provides clues about potential problems and identifies where more thorough monitoring may be needed. Read more about the types of stream monitoring and pick a place to start.

Get More People Involved

The Clean Water Challenge also needs people who can open doors to talk about issues affecting local streams. How can you bring the Clean Water Challenge into areas of your life outside the League? It could be as simple as talking to friends and colleagues about the Challenge: “Hey, I’m part of this clean water effort through the League. I’d love to get you involved.” Then explain exactly what you need them to do.

The Clean Water Challenge is not just a campaign for League members but a Challenge for our communities, partner groups, and schools. Potential volunteers for on-the- ground work include:

• Scouts and other youth groups: Many League chapters sponsor Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops. Stream cleanups and monitoring can actually help them earn badges and awards. Visit iwla.org/scouts for suggestions.
• High school and college students: Many high schools require students to earn service hours. Environmental and service clubs might also be excited to hear how they can help.
• Partner groups: Most League chapters that own facilities allow colleague groups to host meetings and events there. Ask them to pitch in with the Challenge!

Share Water Quality Information

It doesn’t matter how much stream data we collect if we don’t share it! League staff are working with Chesapeake Commons to develop a next-generation water quality database with a broad range of capabilities. The Clean Water Hub will allow League volunteers and other monitoring groups to share our data - and our stories. We tell fish tales and hunting stories around the campfire. Let’s share our stream stories too, says Donkersloot.

The database will allow volunteers to input water quality data stream-side; include data visualization tools (such as stream report cards) to help stream monitors communicate results; and integrate with state and federal databases to make more timely water quality information available to the public. Users will be able to share their data through emails, social media, and websites.

Plan for Success

Water pollution is constantly evolving, which means the ways we address problems need to change too. “The only time we get change in our communities is when people speak out,” says Donkersloot. “Having scientific data is critical to being able to do that. Then we need Ikes to tell their stories. Talk to your neighbors, community leaders, and local businesses about the water quality problems we face today.”

Don’t assume your favorite trout stream or the creek running through your local park is being monitored for pollution by someone else. If you care about it, help protect it by collecting water quality data, whether you’re pulling on hip waders or organizing members of your community to do the leg work.

We need dedicated Ikes to get the Clean Water Challenge over the finish line. We hope you’re one of them!

Not sure how to get started? Check out the Clean Water Challenge Toolkit at iwla.org/toolkit or email sos@iwla.org.

America Needs New Hunters

What happens to traditions when fewer people observe them? They become less relevant - and fewer people want to conserve resources needed to enjoy those traditions.

That’s the challenge facing hunting and shooting sports today. Participating in these sports helps build an outdoor ethic that supports conservation of wildlife, habitat, and public lands. Hunting is also a critical wildlife management tool. We want to sustain these activities into the future, but that’s increasingly at risk as participation declines, people become more urbanized, and the traditional entry point (mentoring by family members) becomes less common.

It’s not just outdoor traditions that are at risk. Excise taxes on hunting, shooting, and archery equipment fund the majority of state-level conservation work across the country through the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (aka Pittman-Robertson Act). This funding - used to conserve a broad range of wildlife, secure public access to outdoor spaces, and more - is at risk as hunting participation numbers decline.

Although there’s been an increase in shooting sports participation in recent years, particularly among women, more work needs to be done to retain these participants long term.

It is critical to start engaging new audiences today to sustain our outdoor sports into the future.

Hunting By the Numbers

Participation in hunting and shooting sports by the “baby boomer” generation (born 1946-1964) has been changing since 1980. These numbers are going to continue to drop as boomers age out of their favorite outdoor pursuits and could affect state conservation budgets as soon as 2024, says Samantha Pedder, Council To Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports. Pedder led a speaker panel on the R3 initiative to “recruit, retain, and reactivate” hunting and shooting sports participants. Although there are numerous potential target audiences for this effort, the panel suggested that Ikes focus on millennials (born 1981-1996). Why?

• Size: Millennials are an even larger generation than the baby boomers but are not participating in hunting and shooting sports at the same rate.
• Income: Millennials are waiting longer to buy houses and start families, so they have the means to finance outdoor adventures.
• Values: Millennials value experiences and social connections. They need an invitation to get outside and try something new.

Millennial Marketing

To  recruit millennials into hunting and target shooting, it helps to understand the motivations that could link them to these activities. Johanna Dart, R3 Coordinator for the National Wild Turkey Federation, working in partnership with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Wildlife, offered insights into three promising millennial sub-groups.

1. Food Motivated

Who they are: This audience is largely from urban and suburban areas and is interested in locally sourced foods (locavores, farm-to-table).

How to hook them: Focus on fresh, organic meat that tastes great - and that they can harvest themselves! “Lure them in with the food and they’ll naturally want to know where they can get their own,” says Dart. Try outreach with food samples at a farmers market or a brewery. “Maybe a poster with nutritional information about venison - that’s usually pretty eye-opening!” suggests Dart. Follow that up with range sessions and mentored hunts, and conclude with a shared game meal, “because the food is really why they’re interested.”