It never fails - the anticipation of spring! Whether you have endured the long North Country winter or you spend the colder months in warmer temperatures, the approach of summer along the River is rejuvenating.
For me, spring has always been filled with the anticipation of fishing for bullheads and trolling for walleye and northern pike along distinctive rocky shorelines. It is the time of year I would look forward to for months as a child and later a teenager; a time to get back on the water and hang out with my father.
During those fishing trips with my dad, I began to understand the importance of the outdoors, and I gained an appreciation for the nature surrounding us and its connections to almost every aspect of our lives. Even now, in my 30s with a family of my own, I still get that same sense of springtime anticipation. Now, however, I experience it not only as a son, but as a father too.
This is one of my reasons to Conserve The Place We Love. What are yours? The cry of a loon… A ruby sunset reflected in glassy water… the yank of a muskie on a fishing line… a gaggle of kids swimming off the rocks? Conserving these precious experiences is up to us. Nobody else will do it!
That’s why together we have undertaken our Conserving The Place We Love Mission Support Campaign - to make sure that loons have wild shorelines to raise their young, to make sure that our fisheries thrive, and to make sure that we have cool clean water for our children to enjoy.
We are raising these funds not only to advance our shared conservation goals, but to support our environmental education programs so that our children, the next generation of stewards, understand the delicate balance of wild lands and healthy waters.
Conserving this place is critical to OUR health and prosperity. Our local economy depends on it. Our quality of life depends on it.
I am excited to announce that to date we have raised just over $2.9 million of our $3.7 million goal; that’s an impressive number, but it isn’t the most important number. You are the most important number!
Your participation, your gift to this campaign, is the critical gift to ensure that our beloved Thousand Islands remain here, wild and healthy, forever. We invite you to make a contribution today.
Please Help Conserve the Place We Love and join us in ensuring that the anticipation grows!
Jake Tibbles
(Spring 2016 Reflections Newsletter)
