Celebrate! National Fishing & Boating Week

National wildlife refuges around the country will celebrate National Fishing and Boating Week June 3-11 with fishing derbies for kids, open houses and other special events to highlight the week. Fishing and Boating Week is organized by the non-profit Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation (RBFF). RBFF promotes the joys of boating and fishing and, like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Wildlife Refuge System, also stresses the importance of citizen stewardship of the water resources on which boating and fishing depend. National Fishing and Boating Week is part of the celebration of June as Great Outdoors Month, organized by the non-profit American Recreation Coalition to recognize the value of recreation to America’s economy and culture. This year’s Great Outdoors Month includes events associated with National Boating and Fishing Week, National Trails Day and National Clean Beaches Week. The Service will host many of these events across the country.

There are two National Fishing & Boating Week events being held locally, both in Maryland. Read more here.

On Sunday night of Memorial Day weekend, FWS went above and beyond the call of duty in a very personal way for this pandologist when I, my non-pandologist husband, and our non-pandologist dogs, one of whom was limping badly, found ourselves stuck at the bottom of a ravine with night fast approaching. A very kind FWS employee and his wife let us leave our lamed dog with them while we hustled back to our car, which was still parked at the top of the ravine five miles back. They let our dog rest on their porch, gave her some water and even gave her a blanket to sleep on, and kept her until we returned. No doubt, had they not been so kind and generous, we would have spent a long and miserable night in the forest.

Thank you forever and ever Mr. & Mrs. Jones!

Also: ALWAYS protect your dogs from fleas and ticks! (Don't ask...)