Article #1 . . . Holiday Meeting, December 3rd - Bring a present to exchange!

Article #2 . . . BFC President, Larry Quilling - "New Directions for Boulder Flycasters"!

Article #3 . . . By-Law Changes to be voted on at Holiday Meeting!

Article #4 . . . BFC Member, Al Permut, Offering Help for the Club!

Article #5 . . . McGinn Ditch Diversion Construction, South Boulder Creek!

Article #6 . . . National Fish Habitat Action Plan!

Article #7 . . . Fly of the Month "Orange Stimulator" by Ron Donahue!

Article #7 . . . BFC Calendar for Winter 2008

FIRST CAST ARTICLE by Larry Quilling

Dear Boulder Flycaster Member,

Your BFC Board of Directors recently conducted a planning session for the upcoming program year and I wanted to share with you some important changes in strategic direction we are formulating. Our mission has always been based upon stewardship for our local watershed. BFC has a long history of advocacy and improvement projects on our local streams such as the Memorial Park on Boulder Creek, stream restoration improvements in the 80's & 90's on Middle & South Boulder Creeks, and our latest project, Rogers Park. In recent years we have used the annual chapter auction to help fund these projects. Historically, we typically netted $12k to $17k from the annual auction to fund chapter operations and our conservation projects.

This format served us well for many years but we were beginning to "wear out" our welcome with many local merchants and outfitters returning year after year for donations. Many outfitters were beginning to complain they were not seeing additional bookings based upon their previous year donations. These problems were making it much more difficult for the auction committee to collect meaningful donations for a successful chapter auction. The event depended on a committee consisting of a very small number of individuals - 4 to 6 and a select group of donors. As a result of this feedback, the Board decided not to conduct the auction in 2008 and to focus on other fundraising efforts. Despite our efforts to raise funds in new ways such as the Bombay Bistro Social, Boulder Creek Festival Booth, and the BFC Fly-fishing Film Tour, we completed the fiscal year in October approximately $5k short of our fundraising goal for 2008.

The reality we face as conservation stewards of our watershed is that our current chapter model does not support our mission. We've decided that we must change our organization, chapter activities and fund raising methods to revitalize the chapter and accomplish its fundamental objectives. Our successful award of the Fishing is Fun Grant from the Division of Wildlife increased the stakes to match the grant monies to complete Rogers Park. Unfortunately, our alternative fundraising activities have not produced the results we need to fully fund the project next year. We have had many generous donations from select chapter members and for this we are truly thankful. We still have not found a successful path to meeting our project fund raising goals. I wrote a suggestion in my last newsletter article entitled "A Call to Action", that a donation of $25 from each BFC member would fully fund the Rogers Park Project. Unfortunately, either uncertain economic times or lack of member interest has resulted in little response from our membership. To date, we have received two $25 contributions since our support request. (If you'd still like to contribute, click on the link at the bottom of this article!)

It is for these reasons and the desire of our Board to expand our watershed projects and community outreach that we are considering new strategic directions. We have determined that our monthly fishing topic meetings do not support or promote our mission to the membership or our watershed community. We have decided to revamp our monthly meetings to more closely align to our conservation and community outreach mission and will try to attract attendees who share our conservation mission. We have officially cancelled the January meeting planned at the Spice of Life and we are considering our options for a mid to late February youth program. We will soon announce a series of public meetings where we invite members to attend extended board meetings where we will create a new mission statement and strategic plan for the chapter. I encourage everyone who shares the desire to protect, conserve and restore our home waters to participate. Monthly programs will be conducted with other organizations in different venues to attract more like minded watershed stewards.

Here are a few of the changes under discussion.

1. BFC will have annual dues as one of our primary means of fundraising; of which the majority of the funds raised will go toward conservation projects. As an alternative, one could pay for the activities in which they participate. Those dues paying members will receive a variety of benefits that non-dues paying members will not. Any monetary donation made to the chapter will apply towards annual dues. In lieu of BFC-specific monetary contributions, we are considering an equal level of membership to those who contribute "X' number of volunteer hours per year.

2. We will strive to conduct monthly board meeting and programs on the same night and any member or guest is welcome to attend both. These meetings will have a much stronger conservation component. We will continue with the occasional fishing programs but they'll be handled as special events.

3. The nature and locations of our meeting will likely change. Some may continue to be at the Spice of Life and others will be held at facilities more appropriate for the planned content.

4. Project fund raising will continue down different avenues. For example: on-line auctions, a business contribution program, unique fishing trips, etc.

5. The chapter plans to embark upon a community outreach program with other conservation minded groups. We will need to seek out areas where mutual support and involvement are beneficial.

6. Youth programs will be enhanced and significantly expanded.

We apologize if these considerations for change are a surprise to some of our members. Frankly, it should not be a revelation to anyone who has attended any of our recent chapter meetings or fund raising events. A small number of members have shown support through their participation and their donations in chapter events and we are truly thankful for that support. The Board would more than welcome your participation in further exploring these considerations and formulating the final components of our new operating strategy. If you send any of us an email we will keep you in the information loop and make sure you have an opportunity to express your opinion. We ask that you continue to help us move forward towards a better watershed stewardship for our community with your continued support of Boulder Flycasters.

Larry Quilling,

Boulder Flycasters President
and the BFC Board of Directors

By Allen Nakagawa, Secretary (photo at left) and Mark Riley, Treasurer.

The Board of Directors has approved changes in the by-laws to decrease the time and effort for making payments on behalf of the chapter while still maintaining the controls embedded within the current by-laws. Payments by the chapter have increased to pay for our fund-raising activities as well as work related to the Boulder Creek Project. Approval of the general membership is necessary for this change to be effective. This will be an item of business for our general meeting on November 5. The changes are described in the following paragraphs for your review. Please contact any Board member if you have any questions.

In summary, the proposed revisions will:

1. Accommodate payment by debit card in addition to handwritten checks

2. Maintain joint approval by President and Treasurer without need to obtain handwritten signatures on checks. Written e-mail approvals of both are required and the Treasurer is responsible for keeping records of such approvals in his files.


At our December Holiday Meeting, we will be voting on this change.

On September 24th, Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Christopher Bond (R-MO), Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), and George Voinovich (R-OH), introduced the National Fish Habitat Conservation Act of 2008, a comprehensive strategy to allocate conservation dollars for effective restoration of our national waterways.

The National Fish Habitat Action Plan is a national investment strategy to maximize the impact of conservation dollars on the ground. Under the Action Plan, Federal, state and privately-raised funds will be the foundation for building regional partnerships that address the Nation's biggest fish habitat problems. This is the most comprehensive effort ever attempted to the causes of fish habitat decline, not just the symptoms.

The legislation was spearheaded by numerous leading environmental organizations including the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, the American Sportfishing Association, The Nature Conservancy, the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, and Trout Unlimited, all of which share a common interest in the success of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan.

We will notify you of our next regular meeting! Date, Place & Time to be determined. Please read your monthly newsletter for updates.