COLUMBIA, SC (February 6, 2013) — The Berkley Conservation Institute (BCI), part of Berkley Fishing, announced the 2012 BCI Conservation Awards during ceremonies at the 2013 Bassmaster Classic in Tulsa, Okla. John Doerr, Pure Fishing CEO, presented the awards with B.A.S.S. Conservation National Director Noreen Clough accepting the awards on behalf of the winning B.A.S.S. Nation organizations.
Winner of the 2012 Berkley Conservation award was the Aurora Bassmasters, Ontario, Canada B.A.S.S. Nation. Their approach was multi-faceted and included projects such as the Scanlon Creek Adopt A Stream, Queensville Adopt A Road, Lake Simcoe Wild Rice Restoration, line recycling, VHS and bass tagging research.
“B.A.S.S. Nation clubs across North America provide so many volunteer hours to accomplish so many great projects,” said Berkley Conservation Director Jim Martin. “One of the highlights of the year is the evaluation of the club submittals and seeing all the magnificent accomplishments. Aurora Bassmasters certainly raised the bar regarding the number of quality projects and we are excited to see so much conservation involvement by so many clubs.”
Honorable Mention Awards were presented to the Maryland B.A.S.S. Nation for their continued work with MD Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and state legislators to re-establish the DNR’s Tidal Bass Manager position, among other projects; and to the New York Bass Nation for their commitment to long term invasive water chestnut removal as an invasive species control and educational awareness program, line recycling plus more