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Contents
Need
Progress
Implementation
Workforce Prep
Population
Job Descriptions
Recruitment and Training
Strategies

In the Fall of 1989, twelve youngsters joined the SAREP (the New York State 4-H Sportfishing and Aquatic Resource Education Program) fishing club formed by Phil Genova, in Ithaca, New York. After three years of trial and error, experimentation, and hundreds of hours of work, a new revolutionary approach to youth sport fishing and natural resource education emerged. Three very important innovative changes were made in the program delivery:

• fly fishing education was focused on exclusively
• a long term, quality traditional apprentice /mentor approach was begun
• standard group size was reduced and enthusiastic youngsters and mentors enlisted

The Fly Fisher Apprentice Program has been very successful in achieving its mission statement; "to identify, encourage and educate the future stewards of our resources through fly fishing". We have learned that young people in our community have an innate desire to really experience and learn more about the natural world, but lack immediate easy access to the resources and mentors who will help them achieve this goal. We have also found that many of these "at risk" youth exist in a world that is not at all conducive to quiet study, reflection and productive skill building.

Responding to this need, the instructors and apprentices of FAP developed the Community Fly Fisher (CFF) concept. Designed to be self-supporting; the profits from retail sales, rentals and class tuition will help finance the operation of the education center, the first of its kind. Youngsters will be able to use the extensive fly fishing and natural resources library along with fly tying tools and materials, free of charge during non-school hours. The center will also provide the community with a full range of classes and projects that are focused on local and regional environmental education, in conjunction with home schooling advocates, public and private school faculty.

The Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County has used a combination of funding sources including: grants, retail sales, class tuition, camp fees and rentals to begin work on the Community Fly Fisher and help implement its goals of youth empowerment, while producing a replicable model that may be used in a variety of applications nationally.

PROGRESS

Five key pieces of the overall project have been completed and form the foundation for the establishment of the Community Fly Fisher:

• CFF NY State Canal Corridor Initiative Grant- the city of Ithaca has included the CFF in its proposal to HUD for funding of the statewide Waterfront Redevelopment Project that will make extensive park land accessible to the public in the "Inlet Island" area, eliminate a hazardous waste site, clean up and renovate existing buildings and create two new waterfront restaurants in some poorly managed areas. The CFF site is located near the center of this innovative project. The $95,000 grant will be used for start up costs and a year's operating expenses.
• Completed Business Plan- a comprehensive business plan has been written in conjunction with students from the Johnson Graduate School of Business Management, Cornell University. This plan takes into account all aspects of the CFF program and will be adapted to fit changing circumstances as the project comes to fruition.
• Fly Fishing and Natural Resources Education Center - we have already received numerous gifts of equipment, books and materials for the CFF Education Center. Arrangements have been made with manufacturers and publishers to acquire the remainder of the rods, reels, waders, fly tying tools, library books, stream sampling and water quality monitoring equipment needed for our educational projects when the CFF sight becomes available.
• Youth Entrepreneurial Education Component- a complete program for involvement of youth in overall development of the CFF has been designed by CCE Educators. Teens and adult mentors are teamed together in fifteen special "research committees" that are engineered to help youth develop leadership, communication, organizational and related business skills, while planning and operating the CFF.

Arrangements have also been made with local contractors and building materials suppliers to contribute their skills and materials to this project. Based on the scheduled release of HUD funding, the target opening date for the retail store is late Spring/Summer of 2000.

IMPLEMENTATION

Over the last year we have worked closely with members of the business, conservation, education and fly fishing communities to ascertain the feasibility of success for the Community Fly Fisher. All work to date shows that the young people of the area need such an opportunity and local schools are interested in working with the CFF as a means of bringing additional environmental education into their programs.

The recent inclusion of the CFF to the New York State Canal Corridor Initiative and City of Ithaca Waterfront Redevelopment Project has established our site, expanded our regional ties and given us the financing needed to proceed into the implementation phase of the program.

Our work will now focus on putting plans for the CFF into action and making use of the extensive volunteer and material resources we have at our disposal.

For the next several months our attention will be on these main areas:

• Physical design- The shop, classrooms and offices must be laid out to fit our needs. Several volunteer professionals and graduate students skilled in these areas have been recruited to help with the site.
• Business design- For at least the first two years of business all of the CFF financial activities will be coordinated through the Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) bookkeeping system. Payroll, payables, etc. will be handled by the CCE bookkeeper. The actual financial operation, including inventory control, money handling, taxes, insurance, etc. will be coordinated by a collaborative effort of Cornell University Johnson Graduate School students, CCE bookkeeper, CFF program manager, business advisors and CFF shop manager.
• Marketing, inventory control, equipment, educational project design and personnel management- All of these areas will be under the program manager's supervision.

Successful implementation of the CFF and related projects will be the direct responsibility of the program manager. Many other volunteers and CCE educators possessing computer, education, construction, business and other skills are involved in the extensive FAP and 4-H national networks and are available to assist.

WORKFORCE PREPARATION

From the start, the young people involved in the Fly Fisher Apprentice Program (FAP) have traditionally been an integral part of the planning, implementation and instruction at workshops regularly conducted around the Northeast over the last seven years. The CFF concept has increased their degree of participation and has diversified our efforts into the realm of workforce preparation and youth entrepreneur development, all the time maintaining their active youth involvement.

In February `96 the teen anglers involved in the CFF assembled and began operating a "Mobile Fly Shop" to gain retail experience and help cover program expenses. It has since traveled with them to fly fishing shows and workshops throughout the Northeast . These youngsters plan the displays, sales and promotions, handle all transactions and coordinate with the Bookkeeper from the Cornell Cooperative Extension.

During April `96 three members of the CFF team traveled to Long Beach California to attend the Youth Entrepreneur Symposium (YES) and experienced a unique opportunity to network with like-minded young people from across the US. Eric, Tim and Mike offered two slide presentations, conducted workshops on CFF marketing research and participated in several panels during the three day conference.

Mike Ullberg, CFF Graduate and Instructor, has trained for eight months at Jack Dennis Outdoors in Jackson, Wyoming learning the fundamentals of retail management and fly fishing sales.

This partnership with the fly fishing industry, local business, youth organizations and educational institutions will continue. The CFF program manager is expanding the extensive network to include a wide range of opportunities for young apprentices to learn retail management and related skills while working at summer jobs in fly shops, at environmental camps, through universities and with a variety of corporations across the US. Apprentices accompany the program manager to all important events including industry trade shows, like the International Fly Tackle Dealers Trade Show in Denver.

Eleven youngsters from communities across the Finger Lakes region have worked together with educators from the Cooperative Extension, grad students from Cornell U. Johnson Business Management School, local business people and CFF volunteers in committees formed to direct the course of the CFF over the next year. Individual committee responsibilities include sight planning, inventory development and organization, computer systems, bookkeeping, marketing, non-fly fishing inventory, special entrepreneur projects and ecological education program design.

POPULATION AFFECTED

Young people, ages 10-19, from the Finger Lakes area make up the population that will be served by the CFF. Traditionally, our focus has been on interesting and involving urban youth from lower and moderate income level households in its programs.

This practice will continue through the auspices of the CFF. 60-75% of the participants in the program will be from this group. It is estimated that 30-50 youngsters, annually, will be involved in direct employment opportunities.

An additional 100-200 young people will be introduced to, and become actively involved in, the program through classes and workshops. Increased involvement and interest will move new apprentices towards employment opportunities and training within the CFF.

Services will expand to include a wide variety of job related experiences and exposure to a host of career possibilities. Participants will be employed as sales associates in the retail shop, as paid assistants in developing educational programs, as paid fly fishing skills instructors and creators and producers of flies, jewelry and related crafts for sale in the shop.

Locally we will continue our association with The Learning Web Youth Outreach and expand the innovative apprentice workforce preparation program begun with Mike. Collaborations with other youth based projects and organizations throughout the region, will include Parkside Garden (formally Landmark Square), Ben and Jerry's Youth Scoops, the Southside Community Center, Youth Employment Services (YES), Economic Opportunity Center (EOC), Sciencenter-Youth Alive Progam, New York State Sportfishing and Aquatic Resources Education Program (SAREP), Ithaca Public Schools, Cornell University and the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. These partnerships will help add to the diversity of youngsters and mentors the Community Fly Fisher will serve.

JOB DESCRIPTIONS

The target group will be mostly of high school age. Therefore the emphasis will be on non-school hours, holidays, summertime and week ends, focusing on job training and providing part-time employment for as many youth as possible, who will benefit from the added income and work experience. Youngsters will also be able to create fishing flies and other crafts, and printed items for sale in the shop.

Jobs will fall into these categories:

Number	Description
1	Full time manager
1	Full time retail assistant
2	Part/full time equiv.- subsidized by Learning Web
10	Part-time in store retail/educational
10	Part-time production items for sale

RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING

Involvement with the CFF program will begin at enrollment in one or more of the classes offered by the educational center. These classes run approximately eight weeks, will be basically recreationally oriented and will include the opportunity to learn and exercise many of the skills needed to become successful in the job market.

Projects around the northeast always include educational learning experiences and involve individuals in situations outside their normal spheres of influence. These unique field trips will put the apprentice in the position of constructing the instructional and sales sights as well as conducting an educational program for the local area.

Depending on their area of interest, youngsters can participate in activities that will increase their public speaking abilities, involve them in retail sales management, train them as instructors, include them in curriculum and program development and generally get them started early in developing skills that are vital to successfully entering the job market.

The flexibility and variety of learning situations offered by the CFF, as well as the direct link with The Cooperative Extension System and Cornell University, will expose teens to increased opportunities for continuing their education and help them make the decisions that will dramatically affect their career choices and work habits.

LONG TERM STRATEGIES

The CFF has been designed to use retail sales and tuition from educational programs to fund the operation of the fly fishing and natural resources center and allow it to become self supporting following the two year HUD grant term. The Finger Lakes area provides an ideal setting for the shop and educational center because of the excellent readily available fly fishing, the existence of several colleges and the lack of significant competition.

Inclusion of the CFF in the Ithaca Waterfront Project shows the strong regional commitment to the program and places the final site in the middle of this extensive and high profile redevelopment area. This will increase the exposure of the CFF, dramatically increase its customer base and will now allow us to include the summer as a very strong retail sales period.

The program manager of the CFF has been working closely with the Finger Lakes Tourist Bureau and Waterfront Project to upgrade access to urban youth and include fly fishing and environmental education as an integral part of their public relations work and master plan for development.

Several educational and community service projects have already been planned and outlined. Support for each individual program will come from local and corporate sources and fees paid by participants where applicable.

Along with local sales, camp fees and class tuition, the CFF will rely on the extensive national network established by the Fly Fisher Apprentice Program to sell fly tying tools, materials and other program essentials at reduced rates to youth groups across the US. This will increase the CFF's buying and selling volumes as well as help like-minded organizations get much needed assistance at a reasonable cost.