Yellow Dog Community & Conservation Foundation Lodge Partner Program
Since its inception in 2016, the Yellow Dog Community and Conservation Foundation (YDCCF) has helped give back to local and global angling communities by funding numerous grassroots projects. To date, the Foundation has invested almost $2 million to help preserve, protect, and enhance the fisheries and the fishing communities that matter to anglers. To support this endeavor, Yellow Dog Flyfishing donates a portion of every trip booked and every product sold to YDCCF.
Since launching the program in 2023, YDCCF and its Lodge Partners have invested almost $350,000 in projects befitting their communities and fisheries. Each Lodge Partner is deeply invested in ensuring their community is responsible, resourceful, and dedicated to providing not only amazing experiences for traveling anglers, but also supporting the livelihoods of the local residents who make it all possible. Each of these places is special because of the people that live there, and YDCCF’s mission is to improve and enhance the livelihoods of those in these communities.
Examples of Lodge Partner projects include:
· Punta Allen, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico: In conjunction with Premier Partners Grand Slam Lodge and Ascension Bay Lodge, along with Tailwaters Rising Tide Fund and the Palometa Club, the town’s Community Center has been going through a complete renovation. There are dedicated workout spaces, a boxing ring, and the next phase will include meeting rooms, classrooms and an observatory on the roof.
· Turneffe Atoll, Belize: This spring, the Turneffe Atoll Sustainability Association released a first of its kind Management Plan for the flats fishery at Turneffe. Developed over the last 18 months with a broad cross section of stakeholders including Premier Partners Turneffe Flats and Turneffe Island Resort, along with Yellow Dog Flyfishing and YDCCF, the plan seeks to set carrying capacities for the fishery along with flats etiquette and habitat protection and strives to provide a model for the management of flats habitat across Belize and the Caribbean.
· McLeans Town, Grand Bahama: Working with Premier Partner East End Lodge, YDCCF has donated over $150,000 toward the McClean’s Town Rebuilding Fund project, which is helping residents of McClean’s Town rebuild their homes after Hurricane Dorian. The McClean’s Town Invitational tournament is held annually in October to help raise funds for this project.
· Xcalak, Chetumul Bay, Mexico: Working with Premier Partner The XFlats, the Xcalak Community Enrichment Project is an annual week of learning and enrichment for the children of Xcalak, along with dedicated ESL instruction for both adults and children. In 2024, the program was expanded to include year-round programming at the new Esperanza de Vida community center in Xcalak.
· Mongolia: With Premier Partner Fish Mongolia/Mongolia River Outfitters, YDCCF has supported the Healthy Taimen Festivals (HTF) for over three years. Each year, doctors travel to Mongolia and perform clinics in remote villages focused on delivering critical preventative care to children in the region. In most cases, these festivals are the only preventative care children have access to. To date, HTF programs have treated over 1,000 children.
· Christmas Island, Kiribati: Premier Partners Christmas Island Lodge and Ikari House have embarked on a partnership with Fisheries Conservation Foundation on a new three-year study of the habits and movements of the island’s Giant Trevally population, in an effort to provide data to support the conservation of this vital game fish species.
Throughout the year, Lodge Partners engage directly with YDCCF in discussions about potential projects, share emerging issues they face, and work toward collaborating on the best solutions. It’s important to note that YDCCF doesn’t do actual project work – in almost every case, that is led directly by partners in each community. They know best what their needs are and how to tackle the issues, and YDCCF supports them financially in achieving their goals.
Anglers researching their next destination are encouraged to look for the Lodge Partner Program logo on the Yellow Dog Flyfishing website and in the Yellow Dog catalog and travel guides. Knowing that the lodge they are selecting is invested in the surrounding community and fishery is yet another way to help anglers decide where to book. After all, great experiences don’t happen by accident – they are the result of deep investments made by the community and the lodges and outfitters that call these areas home.
2025 Premier Partners
Ascension Bay Lodge Mexico
Grand Slam Lodge Mexico
The XFlats Mexico
El Pescador Belize
Victoria House Belize
Turneffe Flats Belize
Belize River Lodge Belize
Turneffe Island Resort Belize
Blue Horizon Belize
East End Lodge Bahamas
Swain’s Cay Lodge Bahamas
Abaco Lodge Bahamas
Bairs Lodge Bahamas
Caerula Mar Club Bahamas
Mongolia River Outfitters Mongolia
Bear Trail Lodge Alaska
Tordrillo Mountain Lodge Alaska
Madison RR Lodge Montana
Cedar Lodge New Zealand
Owen River Lodge New Zealand
Martin Pescador Lodge Chile
Magic Waters Lodge Chile
Patagonia Baker Lodge Chile
Christmas Island Lodge Kiribati
Ikari House Kiribati
Fly Fishing Costa Rica Costa Rica
Wind River Canyon Lodge Wyoming
Gangler’s North Seal Lodge Canada
2025 Partners
Mt Pleasant Lodge Bahamas
Campeche Tarpon Mexico
Tarpon Sands Belize
Sea Dreams Belize