Vermont Wildlife Partnership Teams With Pale Morning Media

JULY 15, 2008 (WAITSFIELD, VT.) – The Vermont Wildlife Partnership, a coalition of more than 50 organizations and businesses dedicated to supporting Vermont’s outdoor legacy, has selected Pale Morning Media LLC as its public relations agency of record.

Pale Morning Media will oversee and conduct public relations initiatives for the partnership as it moves towards its goal of securing stable, long-term funding for fish and wildlife resources in Vermont. Wildlife recreation – which includes hunting, fishing and wildlife watching – provides nearly a $400 million annual impact in Vermont, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“Vermonters are consistently in favor of finding new ways to help support a resource that directly affects the quality of life in this state,” said George Gay of the Vermont Wildlife Partnership. “Our goal is to make that vision a reality, and we’re excited to have Pale Morning Media on board to help spread that message.”

Born in 2006, the Vermont Wildlife Partnership is a diverse alliance including hunters, trappers, anglers, birdwatchers, biologists, foresters, conservation organizations and Vermont outdoor businesses. The partnership’s shared conviction is that Vermont’s fish and wildlife legacy is a benefit to all Vermonters as well as those who visit the state and that legacy should be supported and protected.

The goal of the Vermont Wildlife Partnership is to create a local, sustainable solution for a growing national problem: a flood of funding challenges faced by state fish and wildlife agencies, fading revenue from fishing and hunting license sales, and a sharp increase in the hurdles faced by fish and wildlife in the field.

To achieve this, the Vermont Wildlife Partnership seeks a redistribution of the current state sales tax in a manner that consistently and adequately funds the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department.

“When you see the trappers and birdwatchers in the same room, working toward the same long-term goal with the same level of passion, it’s easy to get on board,” said Drew Simmons, president of Pale Morning Media. “It’s an urgent situation, but fortunately it has a very simple solution.”

Pale Morning Media is a national public relations and strategic communications agency, specializing in the outdoor world. Their current clients include Kelty and Simms Fishing Products, among others.

Pale Morning Media’s work with the Vermont Wildlife Partnership will be led by Matt Crawford, a life-long Vermont hunter and angler and former outdoor editor for the Burlington Free Press. Crawford has an acute understanding of outdoor recreation trends and wildlife management issues. He spent considerable time at the Free Press covering the funding issues of the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, and was a participant in the Vermont Future of Hunting Conference (Castleton, 2006).

About The Vermont Wildlife Partnership: Established in 2006, the Vermont Wildlife Partnership is a broad-based coalition of more than 50 organizations and businesses working to enhance Vermont’s fish and wildlife legacy. The partnership, which includes sporting organizations as well as non-profit conservation groups, is headed by a seven-member steering committee made up of representatives from the Northern Forest Alliance, Vermont Trout Unlimited; the Vermont Woodlands Association; the Vermont Natural Resources Council; the Vermont Federation of Sportsman’s Clubs; the Vermont Center for Ecostudies and the National Wildlife Federation. To learn more or to join the Vermont Wildlife Partnership, please visit www.vermontwildlifepartnership.org or call George Gay at (802) 253-8227.

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