California Department of Fish and Wildlife Offer Grants for Equitable Fishing Access

CALIFORNIA一 The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has partnered with the George H.W. Bush Vamos A Pescar Education Fund to provide grants to programs that promote education and inclusivity for fishing.

The grant program is part of the CDFW’s angler recruitment, retention, and reactivation effort to increase fishing and conservation awareness across the state.

The CDFW will receive the funds through the George H.W. Bush Vamos A Pescar Education Fund, which supports the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation’s Hispanic initiative, Vamos A Pescar.  Funds are provided to state agencies to match and subgrant to local organizations.

The George H.W. Bush Vamos A Pescar fund was established in 2014 when CEO and founder of Bass Pro Shops Johnny Morris donated $125,000 to bring conservation, education, and fishing experiences to Hispanic families in Texas and Florida.

With the continued support of Bass Pro Shops and other companies like Brunswick Corporation, the fund has continued to spread and now supports initiatives in all 50 states.

The fund supports state and local efforts to educate and engage families in high-density Hispanic communities through urban fishing programs, classes, and fishing activities.

Interested programs will need to complete the CDFW grant application and the RBFF George H.W. Bush Vamos A Pescar Application. Applications will be due no later than Dec. 8 at 11:59 p.m. and will need to be sent to jennifer.benedet@wildlife.ca.gov.  To be eligible, programs must be:

• Ethnically inclusive: Events will be open to families of all races/ethnicities with Spanish-English bilingual instruction, materials, and outreach.
• Family-focused: Program will encourage participation across multiple generations and genders.
• Metrocentric: Program will encourage focus in California metro areas.
• Focused on multiple opportunities: Program will provide multiple opportunities for the same audience to participate in multiple fishing activities.
• Virtual learning compatible: Program will use both in-person and virtual platforms in conjunction with one another, as required by current local and state health and safety standards at the time of each event. When virtual delivery cannot be utilized, COVID-19 prevention measures must be followed and incorporated into events.
• Program should promote good stewardship toward the state’s aquatic resources and include information on angler-funded (i.e., Sport Fish Restoration Act) conservation projects.
• Programs must include ways to measure outcomes and incorporate lessons learned.

Proposals will be ranked by the CDFW and submitted to the RBFF for national review by the advisory board. Recipients will be decided in mid-January 2022, and the CDFW will notify recipients soon after. To fill out the applications, see https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=195666&inline for the CDFW application and https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=195667&inline for the RBFF George H.W. Bush Vamos A Pescar application.