BETHEL — A nonprofit corporation formed in 2008 to conserve, protect, restore and promote the Upper Androscoggin River’s fishing resources, its tributaries and environs, recently dissolved.
The Upper Andro Anglers Alliance transferred its assets and administration to The Mollyockett Chapter of Trout Unlimited, effective Feb. 27, to carry on the alliance’s mission, alliance spokeswoman Wende Gray said Tuesday on the Upper Andro Facebook site.
“The Mollyockett Chapter is excited about carrying on the work of UAAA — the Family Fishing Festival, float stocking, river cleanups and the annual 2-Fly Contest,” Scott Stone, alliance past president and Trout Unlimited chapter member, said Tuesday in a news release.
The Mollyockett Chapter encompasses the Western Maine region from Casco to Rangeley. A subcommittee will be formed to continue many of the programs established by the Anglers Alliance, Gray said.
“The UAAA has done a great job developing the Upper Andro into a desirable trout fishing destination for wading and drift-boat fishing,” Stone said.
Trout Unlimited has been working with the alliance and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to develop a management plan for this section of the Androscoggin, he said.
“We expect to further the good work that UAAA has begun,” Stone said.
The alliance was an organization of fishermen, guides and businesses dedicated to improving the quality of the fishing resource on Maine’s Upper Androscoggin River between the New Hampshire border and Rumford Center.
The original group of interested fishing businesses grew out of a presentation to the Bethel Chamber of Commerce by MDIF&W’s marketing representative, Bill Pierce, in 2003, Gray said. The alliance was officially incorporated as a nonprofit in 2008.
After that initial meeting, the chamber hosted a fishing familiarization trip for members of the Outdoor Writers Association of America, she said.
“We also started the float stocking (of fish) the year after and river cleanups,” Gray said.
The alliance’s annual Family Fishing Festival at Angevine Pond in Bethel will now be hosted by the Norway Recreation Department and held in Norway, she said.
The Mollyockett Chapter will continue the float stocking program when it resumes pending the state’s fishery plan for the river, and the Bethel Inn will host the 2-Fly fishing contest as a fundraiser.
An Upper Andro Anglers page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UpperAndroAnglersAlliance will continue to post news about fishing activities on the Upper Androscoggin River, Gray said. Correspondence should be addressed to Trout Unlimited Chapter President, 458 Plains Road, Harrison, ME 04040.
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