BASS announced recently that its new Federation Nation has more than 20,000 members and that leadership has been established in 47 states and six foreign countries.
BASS announced plans for the Federation Nation in January following a split with The Bass Federation Inc. (TBF), which opted to accept a rival plan from FLW Outdoors chairman and CEO Irwin Jacobs. BASS said more than 1,600 clubs have since affiliated with the Federation Nation.
One of the cornerstones of Federation Nation membership is the opportunity to gain one of six Bassmaster Classic berths reserved for its anglers.
"Appearing in the Classic is a dream for a lot of anglers involved in the Federation Nation,” said Wisconsin's Jimmy Johnson, a two-time Classic qualifier who finished 9th this year. "This is the backbone of what the Federation Nation is all about, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”
Also in the press release was an announcement that BASS Conservation is set to launch the 2006 Federation Nation Stewardship Program, providing a minimum of a $1,000 endowment to each state Federation Nation for fish habitat work.
In 2007, BASS is scheduled to launch a Federation Nation Conservation College Scholarship program, which will award a 4-year undergraduate scholarship of $2,000 per year in each of the six Federation Nation divisions for fisheries and biology study. There will also be one nationwide, 2-year scholarship of $5,000 per year awarded for graduate study.
