Dear Friends of the Jackson Hole One Fly:
As Chair of the Jackson Hole One Fly Foundation (JHOFF) it gives me great pleasure to report that the JHOFF has received the 2024 American Museum of Fly Fishing (AMFF) Heritage Award. This prestigious award is in “recognition of demonstrated commitment to the Museum, the sport of fly fishing and the conservation of our natural resources,” according to the AMFF’s website. This is a tremendous honor in and of itself, but particularly when noting that past winners of the award include Leigh Perkins, Joan Wulff, Yvon Chouinard, Tom McGuane, and Casting for Recovery among many other notable individuals and organizations that have contributed so much to the sport we love. In choosing the JHOFF as this year’s award recipient, the AMFF is, effectively, recognizing everyone involved with the Jackson Hole One Fly, from guides and outfitters to One Fly staff, board members and, of course, our incredibly supportive and generous participants without whom the JHOFF would not exist. Reflecting on the award and what has led us to this moment in time reinforces for me just how special the One Fly is, not only for what the event has contributed to the fly-fishing community in Jackson and beyond over the past almost five decades, but, as importantly, what the One Fly can contribute going forward. As pressure on our scarce cold-water resources continues to grow from both increased recreational and agricultural usage and growing environmental challenges, the JHOFF must do what it can to secure and deploy funding in support of education, conservation, and restoration efforts on behalf of the Snake and South Fork and their tributaries. Without question, the next five decades of the One Fly will be more important than the last five. In recognition of that fact, I ask that we all do our part to continue to live up to the spirit of the Heritage Award every year. If we can do that while experiencing the thrills and disappointments, agony and ecstasy and, perhaps most importantly, the camaraderie of the One Fly, then we will rightly honor those that have come before us and helped create this special annual gathering, while “paying it forward” so future generations of One Fly participants can leave their own mark.
Best of luck in the 2024 event and thank you for all you have done and will do for the JHOFF.
Tight Lines,
Greg Case