Enjoy the great outdoors!

National Hunting and Fishing Day

In case you didn’t know it… Saturday, Sept. 25^,2010 is National Hunting and Fishing Day! For 37 years now, outdoor enthusiasts have been celebrating the day and using the occasion to promote outdoor sports and conservation. The tradition began in 1972 when Congress unanimously authorized National Hunting and Fishing Day on the fourth Saturday of every September.

So, take some time to go outdoors this weekend and enjoy the natural beauty of the Albemarle region! And go talk to the Albemarle Plantation Dockmaster Dave Cornelius to plan your next fishing trip!

In honor of the Annual Celebration, here are some fun fishing facts provided by the “Take Me Fishing” organization.

· More than 44 million Americans six years of age and older enjoy fishing every year.

· An average angler spends $1,046 every year on the sport.

· Americans fish 557 million days per year.

· More than 38 million Americans hunt and fish.

· Over one quarter of all anglers are female.

· Hunters and anglers support more jobs nationwide than the number of people employed by Wal-Mart.

· Through license sales and excise taxes on equipment, hunters and anglers pay for most fish and wildlife conservation programs.

· Anglers and boaters have paid $3.6 billion in excise taxes since 1952.

· Recreational anglers spend a staggering $41.5 billion a year to fish. This has tremendous economic impacts.

· Anglers spend almost $300 million a year just on ice.

· Anglers spend more than $1 billion a year on bait alone.

· Funding from anglers helps manage America’s 3.5 million miles of rivers, 40.8 million acres of lakes, 34,400 square miles of estuaries, 58,000 miles of ocean shoreline and 277 million acres of wetlands.

More information can be found at http://www.nhfday.org/Page/Home.aspx