BRATTLEBORO, Vt. — As advocates of the Deerfield River seek a National Wild and Scenic River designation for the waterway, several regional groups are now sponsoring a film tour to benefit the effort.

Regionally, the Connecticut River Conservancy, Deerfield River Watershed Association, Deerfield River Watershed Chapter of Trout Unlimited and the Vermont-based Connecticut River Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited have joined together as co-sponsors of the Fly Fishing Film Tour, a national roadshow of short films showcasing the wide world of fly fishing. The organizations are sponsoring a screening at Latchis Theatre in Brattleboro, Vermont, on Thursday, Sept. 14, at 6:30 p.m.

As an added bonus, a short film featured in the tour, “Bleed Water,” focuses on Dan and Tom Harrison of Northfield’s Harrison Anglers, and how they have promoted fly fishing in New England. A trailer for the film can be viewed at bit.ly/44BgnHC.

“Our little river here is being featured and we’re excited about it,” said Trout Unlimited’s Deerfield River Watershed Chapter President Eric Halloran, adding that he saw an earlier showing of “Bleed Water” in Williamstown back in April. “It’s very entertaining. I brought my wife and she enjoyed it, and she’s not a fly fisher.”

Alongside “Bleed Water,” numerous other short films handpicked by the Fly Fishing Film Tour will be shown, with topics ranging from one family’s legacy of fly fishing to one young Mexican boy’s journey from his hometown to Wyoming.

“Every year they come up with some pretty exciting stuff,” Halloran said. “Some of it is way out of the reach of the average angler, and you can experience that in the theater and it’s a thrill.”

One of the main efforts the film tour’s local showing will benefit is supporting advocacy for a Deerfield River Wild and Scenic River Study Act, which would commission a Secretary of the Interior study of the Deerfield River in southern Vermont and western Massachusetts with the goal of adding it to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

The bill seeking the designation was initially filed in 2022 by U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern and U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, and was co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Richard Neal and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, along with members of the Vermont delegation. The designation would protect free-flowing sections of the Deerfield River — meaning projects, such as dams, would be forbidden from being constructed there — and bring in opportunities for federal funding.

Halloran said the Fly Fishing Film Tour will also provide an opportunity for folks to learn more about the rivers in their communities, as well as what work organizations like Trout Unlimited are doing.

Tickets for the Latchis Theatre film screening on Sept. 14 are $12 and can be purchased at bit.ly/3sGepIK.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.