As we begin a new year, here are some highlights from 2009:

·         Missouri TWW Coalition grew to 252 organizations and businesses (6^th largest coalition in the nation). National TWW coalition grew to over 6,200 groups.

·         Five Missouri TWW coalition members traveled to Washington, DC in February to meet with our congressional leaders (Amy Buechler, CFM; Tim Ripperger and Gene Gardner, Missouri Department of Conservation; Justin Johnson, Missouri Prairie Foundation; and Rick Thom, Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation).

·         Seven Missouri Congressmen and Senators signed on to the FY10 "Dear Colleague" letter, asking for an increase in State Wildlife Grants (Senator Bond, Senator McCaskill, Rep. Carnahan, Rep. Clay, Rep. Cleaver, Rep. Graves, and Rep. Skelton). Rep. Emerson supported the letter with a programmatic request. Not signing on were Rep. Blunt, Rep. Luetkemeyer, and Rep. Akin.

·         State Wildlife Grants grew $15 million to $90 million nationally and match was reduced to 35% for FY2010 - thanks to the help and support of Missouri's TWW Coalition and our congressional leaders! This is the first significant increase in the State Wildlife Grants program since 2002 and will result in an extra $300,000 for Missouri next year. This increase would not have been possible without the strong support of Missouri's Teaming With Wildlife Coalition.

·         CFM and the Missouri TWW Steering Committee distributed the first round of Missouri TWW Mini-grants. We awarded 9 mini-grants, totaling $10,800 to help citizen conservation groups implement Missouri's Comprehensive Wildlife Strategy.

·         Tracked potential climate change/clean energy legislation to ensure that funding for wildlife is included in any legislation that might be passed. Nearly 20 Missouri organizations, businesses and agencies sent a letter in September to Senator Bond and Senator McCaskill in support of additional wildlife funding in climate change legislation. At this time it looks like climate change legislation is on hold until 2010. Nonetheless, this remains an important topic for the coming year.

Youth-Focused Boating, Fishing & Conservation Organizations Encouraged to Apply

ALEXANDRIA, VA (November 4, 2009) - The Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) today announced the availability of boating and fishing education grants for 2010. RBFF's National Youth Fishing & Boating Initiative, which was created in 2008 to expand on the organization's boating and fishing education outreach efforts, is encouraging youth-focused organizations to apply by January 4, 2010.

"We're looking for high-quality education programs that give kids and their families hands-on experience with boating, fishing and conservation," said RBFF President and CEO Frank Peterson. "Recent research shows fishing is the number one gateway activity for introducing children and their families to the outdoors. We believe these education programs help connect children with nature and go a long way towards creating future lifetime boaters and anglers."

Key requirements of RBFF's education grant guidelines include introducing boating and fishing to minorities and underserved communities. While all applications will be considered, RBFF will give special consideration to programs that offer multiple on-the-water learning opportunities, encourage long-term involvement of participants, provide training for instructors, promote conservation and support existing RBFF partnerships. In FY 2009, more than 185,000 kids participated in RBFF's education programs.

To download the Grant Guidelines & Application and learn more about RBFF's National Youth Fishing & Boating Initiative, visit RBFF.org. Grant applications must be submitted on or before January 4, 2010 and will be announced in April 2010.

A list of the 2009 grant recipients is also available on RBFF.org.