Black Hills Flyfishers
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Black Hills Flyfishers Today

Mission

    Our fundamental purposes:  

  1. To improve the stream ecology and environment of running waters and lakes of western South Dakota.
  2. To educate young people and the general citizenry on ecological values and sportsmanship and improve
    the sport of fishing.

History

    A small group of conservation-minded anglers founded Black Hills Flyfishers in 1980.  Scott Zieske, Paul Mumm,
    Roger Braunstein, Harry Slaughter, Bruce Anderson, Denny and Mary Hayward, Tom Fuller, Garrett Clapp, Dave
    Ohlen, Bob Chalberg, and Dick McNeil all played instrumental roles in creating and building the Black Hills
    Flyfishers into a viable organization.  Today BHFF has grown to approximately 300 members located
    throughout South Dakota and in several other states as well.  

    BHFF's focus has always been on trout in the Black Hills, with a particular emphasis on stream quality.  We
    have participated in a variety of habitat improvement projects, donating both labor and funds.  Some of these
    include:

    Spearfish Creek                                        Castle Creek below Deerfield
    Rapid Creek at Pactola Basin                    Rapid Creek at Hisega
    Deerfield Reservoir                                    Rapid Creek above Pactola
    Iron Creek

    BHFF's total cash contributions or commitments to habitat projects in the Black Hills exceed $100,000.  During
    the past three years alone we have committed $80,000 toward four projects: Rapid Creek at Pactola Basin;
    Spring Creek and Sheridan Lake; Spearfish Canyon; and at Canyon Lake in Rapid City.  Federal money often
    matches these funds, providing considerable clout to the hard dollars we contribute.

    In several habitat projects the BHFF has worked closely with the SD Game, Fish, and Parks Department to
    manage streams into "trophy" fisheries, where the emphasis is on large, wild trout.  The catch-and-release
    regulations in Pactola Basin, which helped it become a blue-ribbon fishery, resulted directly from the efforts of
    the Black Hills Flyfishers.  The catch-and-release regulations in Spearfish Canyon, also a result of our efforts,
    protect a population of wild rainbow trout.  

    BHFF also has focused on education and youth for a number of years.  In the past we have spent several
    thousand dollars at the Medicine Mountain Boy Scout camp and the Paha Sapa Girl Scout camp  providing
    fishing equipment and fishing seminars.  Recently, in conjunction with the YMCA, we created a youth fishing
    program as well.   

    Each year BHFF brings to town nationally known speakers, who present programs on fishing techniques and
    fishing locations.  The list includes Dave Whitlock, Gary Borger, Gary LaFontaine, Jack Dennis, Dave Corcoran,
    Tom Travis, Craig Mathews, Jason Borger, E. Neale Streeks, Bob Jacklin, and several others.  These programs
    are in addition to the casting and fly-tying clinics we host on a regular basis.  

Today (as of October 1, 2007)
    The club currently approximately 300 members.

    The Board of Directors of Black Hills Fly Fishers is comprised of the following officers:
    Mike Lees                President
    Hans Stephenson    Vice President
    Ev Hoyt                    Treasurer
    Mark Vickers            Secretary
    The following directors:
    Jim Hawke
    Chuck Baldwin
    John Brewick
    Steve Buchholz
    Bill Coburn
    Bonnie Edwards
    Dave Gamet
    Jim LaFreniere
    Dan Landguth
    Hans Stephenson
    Board Members emeritus are:
    Mike DeMersseman
    Bob DeMersseman
    Dr. Charles Lamb

501(c)(3) Status

    Black Hills Flyfishers (BHFF) is a nonprofit corporation established in South Dakota.  We are recognized by the
    Internal Revenue Service as a nonprofit organization (501(c)(3)) organized for educational and conservation
    purposes.  As such, cash contributions are tax deductible (please consult your tax advisor for details).


    Black Hills Flyfishers  [a 501 (C)(3) organization]
    PO Box 1621    
    Rapid City, South Dakota 57709