FLW Donates $5,000 for Conservation

May 30, 2008 by admin

As part of its longstanding commitment to conservation programs nationwide, FLW Outdoors will donate $5,000 to benefit Ft. Loudoun-Tellico Lakes conservation efforts administered by the FishAmerica Foundation. The donation coincides with the upcoming Wal-Mart™ FLW Tour® stop hosted by the Knoxville Tourism & Sports Corporation in Knoxville, Tenn., and the Loudoun County Visitors Bureau in Lenoir City, Tenn., June 19-22.

The funds will be made available to local conservation groups through a FishAmerica Foundation grant program and may be used for projects such as stock enhancement, habitat restoration and family-fishing waters improvement. Interested groups may apply for a grant through the FishAmerica Foundation Web site, www.FishAmerica.org/grants.

The FishAmerica Foundation is the conservation arm of the American Sportfishing Association, and FLW Outdoors is an organization devoted to giving something back to communities that host its tournaments. Since forming a conservation partnership with the FishAmerica Foundation in 2000, FLW Outdoors has directly contributed more than $300,000, and helped raise more than $2 million, for conservation projects nationwide.

“It’s our job to ensure that we leave a fishery in better condition than when we arrive,” said Charlie Evans, president and CEO of FLW Outdoors. “We do this by maintaining an extremely high live-release rate and by contributing funds for conservation efforts in the host cities where our tournaments are held. Our long-term relationship with the FishAmerica Foundation demonstrates our commitment to continually improving America’s finest waters.”

The Ft. Loudoun-Tellico Lakes donation will be presented to the FishAmerica Foundation during the FLW Tour’s final weigh-in at 4 p.m. in the Knoxville Convention Center located at 701 Henley St. in Knoxville. The winner of this $1 million tournament featuring participants from 35 states, Mexico, Australia and Japan will earn as much as $125,000. Admission is free.

FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. In 2008 alone the organization is offering more than 90,000 anglers the chance to win over $40 million through 230 tournaments in 10 circuits targeting bass, walleye, redfish, kingfish and striped bass. FLW Outdoors is also taking fishing mainstream with the largest cash awards in the history of fantasy sports, $7.3 million.

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FantasyFishing.com.