By Michael Howell
The third annual Youth Conservation & Education Expo is set to take place at Teller Refuge’s Slack Barn this coming Saturday, May 9, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The free-of-charge event has attracted hundreds of kids and parents every year. Last year over 350 kids and families attended.
From its simple beginning with a grant from the National Wild Sheep Foundation to the local chapter to sponsor a youth program, under the impetus of Tom Powers it quickly mushroomed to involve every other organization and agency that he could find to help educate youth about the value and the need to care for wildlife of every sort. This year over 35 local wildlife and conservation organizations and agencies will host educational booths and activities and give away prizes. This year the event is being co-chaired by Tom Powers, Lauren Rennaker and Jon Miller. They can be reached at 406-531-4224, 406-961-3507 or 406-546-5995.
Activities include paintball, BB gun and archery ranges, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Park’s poaching trailer and laser shooting range, fly casting clinics, game calling, horse packing clinics, big game scoring and more.
Not only are the work stations set up by all the participating organizations and agencies educational, the kids attending each station will get a check on their “report card.” Youth 6 to 17 years of age who attend and participate in 12 or more activities will have a chance to win one of 70 summer camp scholarships. At the end of the day, youth who complete the required series of demonstrations and hands-on applications will be selected (through random drawing) to attend summer camp at one of several places: for 11 to 17 year olds, 20 spots are available to attend the Outdoor Adventure Camp and Little Critters Camp at the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch in Dupuyer, MT; 20 spots are available to attend the Jack Creek Preserve Youth Camp in Ennis, MT; and 10 spots to attend the Montana Natural Resources Youth Camp at Lubrecht State Forest in Lincoln, MT. For 6 to 10 year olds, 16 spots are available to attend the Glacier Institute Little Kids Camp in Glacier, MT and five spots are available to attend the Boone and Crockett Little Critters Camp. Representatives from the various camps will be available at the Expo to answer questions.
According to organizer Tom Powers, in order to support the “buddy system” that is so vital to exploring the outdoors, if one of the kids wins a spot in the drawing his or her buddy will also get one so they can attend camp together. The actual cost of the scholarships is covered by participating organizations, agencies and other donors. The kids, however, must “pay” for their spots by participating in a work day at the Teller Refuge or with the Bitter Root Land Trust or the Bitterroot Conservation District or on a private ranch. If they cannot participate in a work day, a small deposit is required for the summer camp spot, but the deposit is refunded once the summer camp is completed.
Other prizes to be awarded at the Expo include a youth cow elk hunt on the MPG Ranch at the north end of the valley conducted by former FWP wildlife biologist Craig Jourdonnais, a mountain lion hunt in the Missoula Special Management Units and other duck, geese and pheasant hunts on the Teller Refuge and other private lands in the Bitterroot.
Powers said that the Youth Conservation & Education Expo has become a Super Saturday event for kids across western Montana.
“A group of kids came from Butte last year,” he said.
This year’s highlights include a special opening ceremony with the Forest Service Northern Region Mule Pack Train parading through the refuge area. Afterward they will offer packing demonstrations along with members of the Selway-Pintler Wilderness Back Country Horsemen.