Enhancing Fish Populations and Improving Habitat Around the U.S.
Alexandria, VA – April 16, 2025 – ASA’s FishAmerica Foundation recently awarded funding for four community-based projects that will enhance fisheries and habitats across the United States. FishAmerica leveraged contributions from the Brunswick Foundation, Grizzly Outdoor Corp and the Walleye Federation in this joint effort to support local groups who are improving fish stocks and waterways in their communities.
The FishAmerica Foundation of the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) invests in habitat conservation, research and fishing participation projects that make a significant impact on anglers and sportfishing. Each year we fund several projects that enhance fish populations, restore fishery habitats, improve water quality, and advance research to improve sportfishing opportunities and help ensure recreational fishing’s future. The following are the projects awarded funding at the end of 2024:
Straits Area Sportsmen’s Club of Moran, Michigan for the “Brevoort Lake Walleye Stocking Program.” Leveraging the donations with the Walleye Federation and FishAmerica Foundation, this group will stock larger walleye fingerlings to improve survival and ultimately restore walleye populations in Brevoort Lake, a 4,000-acre lake in Mackinac County in northern Michigan.
Overmountain Chapter of Trout Unlimited of Johnson City, Tennessee for the “Fish Barrier Repair, Left Prong of Hampton Creek.” In September 2024, Hurricane Helene severely damaged a barrier keeping rainbow trout from migrating and destroying a sustained population of the southern strain of wild brook trout in the upper reaches of Hampton Creek. Leveraging the funding from the Brunswick Foundation and FishAmerica Foundation will allow the emergency reconstruction of this barrier and supplemental habitat enhancements that will reduce erosion of the banks to protect the water quality and vulnerable populations of brook trout for future generations.
Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners, Florida for their project “Enhancing Fisheries in Destin-Ft. Walton Beach, Florida.” Leveraging funding from the Brunswick Foundation and FishAmerica will allow this group to work with community-based organizations and local high school students to deploy 15-20 artificial reef modules to increase the habitat available for reef fish species in this very popular destination for recreational anglers.
The Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition is being supported in partnership with the Grizzly Outdoor Corp to restore salmon, trout and char habitat in the Ward Creek Watershed. This watershed in Ketchikan, Alaska provides habitat for Dolly Varden; steelhead and coastal cutthroat trout; and pink, chum, coho, and sockeye salmon. Historic riparian logging in the Upper Ward Creek watershed harvested habitat-forming old-growth trees resulting in channel simplification, fish habitat losses, and altered riparian forest conditions. This project will engage volunteers to improve sportfish habitat and other natural channel functions by using hand tools to add large wood to Ward Creek tributaries impacted by historic logging. It will also design heavy machinery-scale large wood structures to improve fish populations and other natural channel functions in the Upper Ward Creek mainstem channel.
“ASA continues to demonstrate its commitment to conservation and habitat restoration by investing in these valuable projects,” remarked Glenn Hughes, President and CEO of the American Sportfishing Association. “The Grizzly Outdoor Corp, Brunswick Foundation and the Walleye Federation have been long-time valuable partners with FishAmerica and we could not do this important work without them.”
Since 1983, ASA’s FishAmerica Foundation has supported thousands of projects across the U.S. and Canada to improve fisheries, habitat and water quality while empowering anglers to take action at the grassroots level. For more information, visit the FishAmerica website.
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