The Yellow Dog Community and Conservation Foundation (YDCCF) has awarded a $20,000 grant to Bonefish & Tarpon Trust to help fund the Bahamas Mangrove Restoration Project. YDCCF is a non-profit foundation focused on preserving, protecting and enhancing the places and communities that matter to anglers. Since 2016, the foundation has invested over $1.2 million in grants across the world.
After Hurricane Dorian made landfall in 2019, YDCCF granted more than $300,000 to relief and restoration efforts in the Bahamas, a large portion of which was raised during the Double Haul for Dorian effort in the weeks following the storm. YDCCF Executive Director Brooks Scott recently joined BTT’s Bahamas Initiative Coordinator Justin Lewis to tour the East End of Grand Bahama, where Scott saw firsthand the lasting effects of Hurricane Dorian on the ecosystem.
“What takes you by surprise is the scope of the devastation – over three years later and the mangroves continue to struggle to repopulate,” he shared. “Bringing this back to what was there before the storm will take an enormous amount of investment. YDCCF is committed to helping restore this vital habitat.”
YDCCF’s grant will help facilitate the fishing guides’ participation in the replanting efforts. The guide community is on the front lines in the ecosystem daily, and they rely on a fully functioning habitat for their livelihoods. “Guides have a unique ability to educate and influence traveling anglers on the project and why it’s so important, and their participation and input as part of the restoration effort is crucial to success,” Brooks added.
