New Website, Article Feature, and Funding, Oh My!
Happy June!
Conservation Fisheries has seen a lot of excitement since our May newsletter. So much so, we’ve decided we simply cannot wait until August when we would be scheduled to send our next quarterly newsletter to tell everyone about it!
New Website
First and foremost, we have a new website, and you’re actually on it right now! A project that has been in the works since January has finally come to fruition. Countless hours and a lot of team effort has gone into creating this new website. Here are a few new features that might interest you to check out:
Citico Darter, Etheostoma sitikuense by Derek Wheaton
Species Profiles: Every species that we’ve worked with has a profile page with information such as the species’ conservation status, spawning habitat, native range, and other relevant data.
These profiles are based on the best information we have available and our experience with these species. Partners! If you have better or more up-to-date information, please contact us so we can update these profiles.
Our Successes: We’ve compiled some of our greatest success stories from the last 35+ years, highlighting why the work we do is so important and how we have truly made an impact regarding freshwater biodiversity.
Facility Expansion: As we’ve mentioned several times over the last few months, we’re expanding! This page includes details about the expansion and describes how adding more space and related resources is important to our mission.
Publications: Conservation Fisheries believes that scientific information should be accessible to all. We’ve compiled several publications that are authored or co-authored by CFI staff members for your reading pleasure, and more importantly, to support conservation efforts!
Illustration by Song Kang
Garden and Gun Feature
Secondly, we have been so fortunate to have been interviewed for an article in Garden and Gun magazine! Lindsey Liles, the author of this article, visited us in February for a hatchery tour and to learn about the history of CFI and the impact that we have made over the years. She perfectly captures the essence of the work we do, and how truly marvelous the underwater world is. We are humbled and honored to have been featured in such a way. To read Lindsey’s article, visit our Media page.
There is a ton of other information on this portion of the website, including other article features, podcast interviews, and videos taken by CFI. We hope that you all enjoy learning about Conservation Fisheries’ past, present, and future!
A physical copy of Garden and Gun can be purchased wherever you get your magazines or Garden and Gun’s online store. Additionally, if you are as in awe of the illustration featured with the Garden and Gun article as we are, consider purchasing a print from the artist’s website.
Funding and Upgrades
Last, but certainly not least, we have been awarded a generous $50,000 grant by The JEM Project. The JEM Project is a foundation supporting registered nonprofit organizations that focus on either promoting animal welfare, instigating environmental sustainability, advancing child welfare and/or empowering women. We seem to check a few of those boxes! Applications for funding by The JEM Project are by invitation only, and we are proud that they believe our work to be worthy of their attention. We’re thrilled to have received first a donation from The JEM Project and then to have been awarded this grant.
The grant money awarded to us will go directly into Phase 0 of our Facility Expansion and will be used for purchasing materials to build new, more durable metal racks to hold our recirculating systems. This funding will continue the improvements we have made over the past year to upgrade and replace a variety of other hatchery equipment and tools with the gracious support of a $25,000 Community Agency Capital grant that was awarded in 2021 from the City of Knoxville.
As always, we appreciate your support in whatever form you may give it.
– The CFI Team