Tennessee's Aquatic Outreach Effort: One Agency's Way of Doing It

Tennessee has become quite successful in the last fifteen years in facilitating numerous aquatic outreach events from the Smoky Mountains to the Mississippi River floodplain.  The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency annually supports 70 events statewide with a very diverse clientele of attendees and sponsors.  These events generally impact more than 14,000 anglers each year that range in age from 1 to 16 years old.  Obtaining funds to produce such events has become more difficult in recent years; diversifying the sponsor base has led to some interesting coalitions being formed among like minded people, all wanting to share the enjoyment of aquatic resource opportunities with children.  Another positive aspect of these outreach efforts has been the involvement of numerous outside volunteers, and students, some of whom go on to become fisheries professionals.  Such events can be a recruiting tool to show interested individuals that wildlife and fisheries work is not all data collection and law enforcement.