Submitted by walt_gasson on Wed, 2015-07-15 14:02 Conservation The Front Porch TU Businesses & Guides Outdoor Communicators Vote Up Down +5 + image.jpg What's big and loud and exciting and fun in Orlando? Could be any one of a dozen different theme parks and vacation destinations. The Mouse, Harry Potter, Universal Studios - they're all here. But they're not the drawing card for us. We're here at the International Fly Tackle Dealer trade show. And it's a great place to be. You can meet the industry heavyweights here. Our friends at Orvis are right across the aisle. You can meet the young up and comers, too. Fellow Wyoming guy Scott Hunter from Vedavoo is just down he way. Johnny LeCoq and the guys from Fishpond, the BlackStrap crew, Daniel and the Tenkara USA folks are all here. It's an awesome place to see what's new and what's cool in fly fishing. Why are we here? What makes a conservation outfit like ours show up at a big trade show in Florida? Because we all recognize that businesses have a vital role to play in conservation in the 21st century. Like my good friend Kirk Deeter says in the most recent issue of Angling Trade, habitat equals opportunity equals sales. All the businesses I mentioned above get that. Big and small, old and new, these companies understand that a business that depends on natural resources should invest in those resources. We're here to strengthen our relationships with businesses that get conservation, and to build relationships with new friends in the fly fishing world. We can tak about the importance of headwaters, the challenge of climate change, the state of trout or just about why good fishing is good business. But we're here - we're part of this community and we're working with the growing number of businesses that are part of the TU Team. it's a great place to be.