Come Fish in Wyoming

This is my final project for my English class. I developed a template for the Wyoming Department of Travel and Tourism to use to develop a new marketing campaign since their current one is outdated and slightly corny. Let me know what you think!

Western Tourism

Recently I was researching what led to tourism in Wyoming and the West. I stumbled across a book called "Welcome to wonderland promoting tourism in the Rocky Mountain West" by Peter J. Blodgett. There are four or five parts of the book. The fourth section is called Constructing Wonderland. I found chapter 12, Western Tourism, 1880-1920, the most relevant to my topic. Blodgett discusses how the construction of the continental railroad had a major impact on tourism in the west. Without the railroad there would have been no reason to develop tourism. "Among the most significant enterprises that developed were those catering to the wants and desires of... the outdoor enthusiast..." (Blodgett, 362). They capitalized on wealthy travelers, since the upper-class clientele possessed substantial incomes and leisure time. Many hotels and resorts were established along the railroads because of the easy transportation and access to travelers. Blodgett basically gives a run down of the history or tourism and the marketing of the west since 1880.


WYO - The University of Wyoming Cowboy  by Alicia Spagnola

 I found this book very interesting. As Blodgett states, Americans had a "fascination with recreation in natural settings, an influence that would continue to grow over time in the second half of the nineteenth century and in turn affect the evolution of tourism and national parks by the early twentieth century" (Blodgett, 364). I believe this is still true today. Americans and even foreign travelers envision Wyoming as the unchanged land of Cowboys and Indians that is still truly Wild West. Marketers for the state today still capitalize on this idea. Their current slogan is "Wyoming - Forever West". Wyoming promotes it's seclusion and small population to emphasize the vast acres of open land and national parks we have. It still caters to the outdoor enthusiasts that Blodgett mentioned. Promoting fishing, hunting, hiking, and just taking in the scenery in general to tourists. Back in the 1800s to 1920s the West was promoted as a place to escape and relax. Then it was a place to travel to on train to visit a spa and resort. It is still promoted as a place to escape and relax, but its more to become one with nature and to get away from the hustle and bustle of the high based city life that so many people live in these days. This is exactly what I want to continue to promote the state as if I land a job with the Dept. of Travel and Tourism. I don't want to ever lose the Wyoming I have come to know and love.

Wyoming Fly Fishing

When hopping on YouTube.com and doing a basic search for Wyoming fishing, several different options pop up; including fly fishing over different regions of the state, as well as certain species of fish. When glancing over who has posted the videos, it is evident that “WyomingTourism” is responsible for the majority of them. “WyomingTourism” is the YouTube account for the Wyoming Department of Travel and Tourism. One of the videos they published is called “Wyoming Fly Fishing”. It is basically a video promoting the state of Wyoming and its bountiful waters to fish in. To check out the video go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF6XzkIqhfM

The video begins with glimpses of wildlife associated with Wyoming, such as buffalo and deer. It also shows people on horseback, riding up the hillside, with packs on their horses as if they are on a long journey. The commentator states, “This is an invitation to you to come fly fish in Wyoming.” Jack Dennis then appears and there are now images and videos of streams, rivers, lakes, fish, and people catching fish. Jack divides the state into five sections: southeast, southwest, central, northern and far northwest. While discussing the major rivers in each region of the state a brief map of that section appears. He also mentions the four different species of cutthroat trout native to Wyoming, as well as the fact that the state has vast acres of public, state, and private land established for anglers to have access to and fish on. It wraps up with people again on horseback, Jack Dennis catching a massive trout and the commentator stating “Accept this invitation from Wyoming… We are asking to take but a single week and try any region. You’ll soon discover why Wyoming is an angling secret worth experiencing…” The very end of the video has the Wyoming Travel and Tourism slogan, “Wyoming: Forever West”, as well as their website and phone number. It states their website is www.wyomingtourism.com, which is incorrect. It is actually .org, not .com.

I think the video does a good job at grabbing the attention of their target audience. The target audience appears to be out-of-state male anglers about 40 to 75 years old. This is based on the inviting tone and slow paced conversation-like presentation from the commentator. They also do an effective job at incorporating credibility with a fly fishing expert. Jack Dennis he is world renowned, the coach of the U.S. Fly Fishing Team, and a well-known Jackson Hole outfitter; he is seen as an expert in the eyes of any avid angler. I think a glitch in the Dept. of Travel and Tourism's marketing campaign is that the average youtube user is between the ages of 16 and 40, which is not within their target range at all. A more modern and upbeat video may be more effective to grab the average youtube user or they may want to try another mode of advertising to reach their original target audience. I think this video will be a good resource for my final project as it will give me something to work from and improve.

Wyoming Cutt-Slam

I promised ya'll details about the WY Cutt-Slam hosted by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. You can find the full details at http://gf.state.wy.us/services/customers/cuttslam/index.asp but I'll give you a brief rundown of the program. There are two basic purposes behind the installment of this program. First to "encourage anglers to learn more about Wyoming's cutthroat sub-species". Secondly, for people to "develop more appreciation and support of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department's cutthroat management program". The concept is very easy. Catch one of each sub-species in their native ranges in WY, complete the application and receive a certificate from the WY Game and Fish Dept. Below is what the certificate will look like. The four sub-species include the Colorado River cutthroat, the Bonneville cutthroat, the Snake River cutthroat, and the Yellowstone cutthroat. The application itself simply requires the anglers information, a verifying biologist's name and signature, then the location and date when each of the sub-species were caught. 

I think this is a very effective way to encourage anglers to get out and fish the waters. It gives them a specific goal to catch certain species of fish, as well as enables them to receive a certificate to show off their hard work. I think some people may be intimidated by having to get the verification from a biologist in order to submit their application. On the Wyoming Game and Fish Dept website about the Cutt-Slam, they do break the state down into regions designating what regions are home to the different sub-species. It also includes a list of contacts within each region. These contacts would enable the anglers to locate a biologist to verify their species, either by having the fish or by presenting a photograph. Although this is a great way to encourage anglers to get out and experience the different waters of Wyoming and become more familiar with the Game and Fish Dept., it also involves traveling all over the state. Few people have the time, or money to spend to put into state wide angling. Speaking from a college student perspective, I would love the opportunity to catch these four species and receive a certificate, but I don't have the resources to allow me to take time off classes and dump money into my gas tank to drive all over the state in search for these fish.

Fishing - WY Dept. of Travel and Tourism's take on the subject

          Since this class and final project in general have sparked such an interest inside me to research the possibilities of working for the Wyoming Department of Travel and Tourism, I thought I'd take a gander at their website. While clicking around going from page to page I discovered an article about Fishing under the Activities category. At the top there is a slide show of about 5-7 different pictures of people fishing and catching fish all over the state. To the right of that there is a map of the entire state with several different pins in various colors signifying different places to hike and lodge. The opening line starts with a couple statistics that would catch any angler's attention. "With  4,200 crystalline lakes sand 27,000 miles of blue-ribbon, fishable streams, Wyoming is the ultimate fishing and fly fishing destination." The author, who is not mentioned anywhere on the page, did a fantastic job at including numbers to draw the attention of the reader, yet still presenting it in an approachable manner. It is evident that the target audience of this article is for travelers and tourists. It presents Wyoming as a place for all levels of anglers from beginners to experts. It mentions a couple well known locations to go trout fishing including Yellowstone and Grand Teton National park. It also reiterates the fact that Wyoming is not home to just trout, we have over 22 different species of game fish.
                 I think this targets is audience very effectively, it presents all the necessary information but yet has a very inviting tone that encourages people to come check out the fishing in Wyoming. I really enjoyed the fact that although they do mention fly fishing and some possible places to catch cutthroat trout, they also discuss all the other types of fish we have within the state and the reservoirs they can be found it. Even salmon can be caught within northern lakes in Wyoming which many people are unaware of. This does contrast with their pictures, since all the images pertain to fly fishing. The Dept of Travel and Tourism also makes a reference to the Wyoming Game and Fish Dept.'s Cutt-Slam. If an angler catches all four native subspecies of cutthroat trout they are able to earn a certificate. I will look up the full details later and inform ya'll. If you would like to check out the Wyoming Dept of Travel and Tourism's article on fishing, please check it out at: http://www.wyomingtourism.org/overview/Fishing/1517

My Grandmother and the five trout she caught in a lake nearby Laramie, WY.

Press Release: National Hunting & Fishing Day

According to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department Press Release on September 20, National Hunting and Fishing day was September 25. They state, "Most Wyomingites realize the values of hunting and fishing to family and tradition, but few people understand the conservation and economic benefits Wyoming sportsmen and women contribute to our wildlife heritage." Passed by Congress in 1942, National Hunting and Fishing Day celebrates the efforts of sportsmen and the history of wildlife conservation and management in North America. President Franklin D. Roosevelt contributed greatly to this cause. He passed "the first laws restricting commercial slaughter of wildlife and transportation of wildlife and created 51 wildlife refuges and 5 new national parks." He also "signed the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, which places a federal tax on the sale of hunting and fishing equipment. The money is then returned to the states to be used for wildlife and habitat enhancement projects." "Hunters and anglers annually contribute $76 billion to the American economy through taxes on hunting and fishing equipment, more than the annual revenues of Microsoft, Google, Ebay, and Yahoo combined. In Wyoming alone, the 113,000 active sportsmen spend $676 million a year on hunting and fishing, 89 percent of Wyoming's cash receipts for cattle. Contributions from sportsmen directly support 9,500 Wyoming jobs and pump $1.8 million into the state's economy daily."

I found this Press Release intriguing because it relates directly to my topic of encouraging fishing in Wyoming to contribute to our economy. The stats that they provided to support the fact that hunters and anglers greatly contribute the Wyoming economy. I was unaware of the acts that Roosevelt had put into effect during his presidency that have influenced wildlife management and conservation. If you would like to read the entire press release, please go to http://gf.state.wy.us/services/news/pressreleases/10/09/20/100920_5.asp

P.S. The picture is of Crater Lake, that I just took this past Friday, after a 2.5 mile hike down to the lake. For a grand total of 5 miles round trip, to only get two bites, and not land a single fish. It was still gorgeous up there! Any day at the lake is better than a day in the office.

Fishing's correlation to Relaxing

For my second academic post, I want to look at the article that I referred to earlier in my "Research" post. I used the article to support my paper that was an elaborated version of my Credo. The article, "Physician connects 'relaxation response' to mind-body health" by K. Kersting  in Monitor on Psychology.

The main idea that Kersting attempts to get across is that relaxation techniques can improve people's health. He states, "Stress hormones, produced when the body's "fight or flight" response is triggered, play a role in a host of ailments including hypertension, anxiety, depression, infertility, hot flashes in menopause and insomnia". Relaxing helps relieve these hormones and reduces the negative affects they can have on a person's body. Kersting refers to the "three-legged stool" a couple times in his article. He believes this stool is made up of drugs, surgery, and relaxation techniques to develop the ideal health-care model.

Although it is a short article, it efficiently covers the essential points. In everyday life we are all bombarded with stress. Stress has a negative affect on the human body and it is important to de-stress in effect ways. Relaxation techniques were defined by Kersting as meditation or prayer, but I think it can go much further than that. The song I mention in a previous post "The River Just Knows" by Rodney Atkins depicts how the river can be used as a form of meditation to help deal with stress. I think, whether it is fishing or some other activity, everyone should take part of relaxing to help improve their health and well-being. Honestly, I think if stress is effectively managed by relaxation techniques, then the concept of the "three-legged stool" is not necessary. People should not be intimidated by the term "relaxation techniques". It doesn't have to be anything fancy. It can be something as simple as going for a walk or fishing, or anything that enables one to empty the mind of thoughts, or concentrate the mind on one thing, in order to aid development, contemplation, or relaxation.

Picture above is from one of my fishing adventures on Hwy 34, I stumbled across a waterfall and had to capture a few pictures of it!

Continued: "Estimating the Economic Value of Improved Trout Fishing on Wyoming Streams"

As promised previously, I am finally going to summarize and review the article “Estimating the Economic Value of Improved Trout Fishing on Wyoming Streams”.

Robert S. Dalton, Chris T. Bastian, James J. Jacobs and Thomas A. Wesche all collaborated to develop this article for the North American Journal of Fisheries Management.  It was in the November 1998 issue, pages 786-797.  Dalton et al. states in the opening paragraph “Although the demands placed on natural resources and the agencies that manage them are constantly increasing, the budgets necessary to meet these demands are often inadequate” (786).  This relates directly to my purpose of increasing fishing within the state of Wyoming in order to boost the revenue from fishing licenses to more sufficiently support the agencies. They quickly explain the difficulties of estimating the associated benefit of a fisheries improvement project and the related economic profit associated with such a program. This leads to the necessity of conducting surveys to estimate the benefit consumers gain from consuming a good or service, in this case fishing. Dalton et al. then go on to describe different methods that have been used to estimate the net willingness to pay for fishing by consumers. It is then concluded that CVM is the most adaptable non market assessment technique developed thus far. The CVM, Contingent Valuation Method, “uses survey questions to determine people’s preferences by finding out what they would be willing to pay for specified goods or services” (787). This technique has been used in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, on various streams and rivers, to estimate the economic value of fishing. They go on to define their research objective, their data collection methods (CVM), the economic model, analytical approach and their results. It was found that for the tourist anglers there was a much higher value added on the chance of catching a large trout than in comparison to resident anglers. In the end they conclude that their research can aid “fisheries management agencies to better compare different proposed improvement projects by using economic information” (796).

First of all I must state that I was completely engulfed in the article. It combined my knowledge of business, economics, and consumer behavior, and my limited understanding of biology with my love of fishing! It was awesome! Although this is something I want to pursue, until now I had never come across a true example of the merger of business and fishing.  As I may have mentioned before, I’m in my senior year of pursuing my degree in marketing. I’ve been striving to develop a way to combine my passion of fishing with my interest in marketing, and this article has shown me it is possible! I have not taken an economics class since freshman year, so some of the terminology and equations were a bit over my head at times, but once they defined the variables and I reviewed the concepts again it made more sense. They also included the scientific names of fish, which I found very interesting to find out that a rainbow trout is actually an Oncorhynchus mykiss. Although I can see how to the average reader it may be a bit overwhelming with how much in detail they dive into at times. They do use multiple references to support their surveying techniques which provide credibility to show they didn’t just create some random way to try to estimate an angler’s interpreted value of fishing. I have learned much about surveys and interpreting consumer value in my Consumer Behavior class so I thought it was really intriguing to see it applied to anglers and trout fishing.

Overall I found it a very interesting article and think it will support my argument for promoting fishing within the state of Wyoming.

P.S. The picture is from one of my fishing trips back in May near my grandfather's ranch.

The River Just Knows

If you have not heard the song "The River Just Knows" by Rodney Atkins, I highly suggest it. The chorus describes perfectly why going fishing is so relaxing at times.
Check it out at YouTube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYYgnIGiE5E

The person who put the video together included their own pictures of fishing and of the river. It looks like somewhere out east to me. But it is still gorgeous and I encourage you to watch and listen!

Research

For the paper we have to write for my English class I'm depicting the relationship between fishing and relaxation. I found this article through the American Psychological Association, and think it relates perfectly! Although it talks about prayer and meditation, I think fishing is a form of meditation, in a way. With fly fishing or even just casting and reeling with a standard spinning reel you repeat the same motions over and over again which is similar to some forms of meditation. Let me know what ya'll think. http://www.apa.org/monitor/may05/physician.aspx

My Fishing CREDO

One of our assignments for English involved writing a Credo. It was based off the "This I believe..." series. This credo will be the base of the paper we will be writing. I just thought I would share my ideas with you.

I believe in hooks.

            A hook can mean many things. It can refer to the catch line of a song, or the underlying message in a business proposal. These hooks refer to something that draws people in, or lures them to the bait you are tossing out. To me however, the most important hook is the simple, yet very important, fishing hook.

            A fishing hook enables people to fish, not only to survive, but also as a pastime. Fishing, to many, seems like a novel idea, but they never make the time to go wet a line. It’s a time to escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and find solitude. It’s important to get a little R&R every once in a while. People can’t keep chugging along at 1,000 beats per minute for long before they wear themselves out. Relaxing should be a key element in everyone’s’ lives. It helps lower stress levels; it increases happiness and enables people to have a positive outlook on life. I believe that hooks represent relaxation. 

Fishing is my sanctuary, its time I take just for me to recollect on things and think. That is until that first fish bites, and then I’m caught up in the excitement of reeling in the unseen and unknown. How big is the fish on the end of my line? What kind of fish is it? How big of a fight is it going to put up? Is it going to slip off the hook right before I pull it ashore? There are so many unknowns that create the thrill and rush of hooking a fish and reeling it in.  Getting that caught up in something allows me to escape from the stresses of everyday life. Not a thought in my mind pertains to work or homework or classes or family problems when I’m out on that lake. My mind is on hooks.

What economic effects would improved trout fishing have within the state of Wyoming?

As I had mentioned previously, I thought it would benefit the economy of the state to promote their fishing. Well improving trout fishing instead of increasing demand for fishing is another aspect that could be looked into. There is an article in the Journal of Fisheries Management called "Estimating the Economic Value of Improved Trout Fishing on Wyoming Streams". Four different faculty members from the University of Wyoming, three from the Dept of Agriculture and Applied Science and one from the Dept of Renewable Resources collaborated to write the article back in 1995. I was unable to get a hold of the full article because the University Library didn't have it on hand, so I have requested and with further evaluate it later. As for now, based on the abstract it appears that a survey was given and was analyzed on two different levels. One was the preferences of anglers that fish the waters within Wyoming, the other was comparing resident fishers to tourists. Evidently anglers who bought out-of-state licenses spent more more days per trip fishing, as well has had higher incomes than those that bought in-state licenses. This seems logical to me. If you would like to read the abstract please visit :
http://afsjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1577/1548-8675%281998%29018%3C0786%3AETEVOI%3E2.0.CO%3B2?journalCode=fima
They go into more detail about the dollar amounts per day of changing certain aspects of increased trout populations for residents and tourist anglers. This didn't make much sense to me yet since I have been unable to read the full article yet! You will all get a full review once I do though! I'm curious to see if the amounts have changed much since 1995 when they submitted the article to now in 2010. I will update y'all with what I find out.
On a side note I discovered an awesome picture of a fly fisherman on the Snake River. Check it out!

Why do I care about fishing?

The reasoning behind my topic choice is I absolutely love to fish. My dream job would probably be to work for the Game and Fish Dept or for BLM or anything where I could be involved with fishing. I really think that Wyoming could do a lot more to promote fishing within the state, especially to those who are from out of state. They could make a killing on the profits from selling out-of-state fishing licenses. Not to mention, I'm sure we have all seen the commercials promoting tourism within the state, they very rarely depict water or fishing. If you ask people from across the country what they think of when they think of Wyoming they will tell you "the Wild West", prairies, mountains, and tumble weeds. None of that pertains to lakes, rivers, or fishing at all. I would like to change that! WY has some gorgeous locations to fish at! Below is a picture I took this past summer, I caught 12 rainbow trout that day!

First Attempt

Good Afternoon Ya'll!

Hope you are enjoying this Sunday afternoon of a three-day weekend! This is my first attempt at blogging. I have absolutely no idea what I am doing, but since it is required for my Writing for the Web English course at the University of Wyoming I figured I better get on it. This post doesn't relate much to what this blog is going to be about, its just a test run. Let's see how this turns out!