by John Dowd
Getting youth interested in carrying on the traditions of Montana is something at the forefront of the minds of many Bitterrooters. This is definitely the case for the combined efforts of the Montana Conservation Elders and First Hunt Foundation. Together, making up Montana Matters Youth Outdoor Experience, they have reached out to many more organizations over the years to give Montana youth the opportunity to get outside. All of this effort has culminated into one big event, a youth outdoor expo.
The event will take place May 6, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. at the Ravalli County Fairgrounds in Hamilton. The event will see over 40 organizations set up booths for youths and their families to visit. These organizations include numerous summer camps, hunting education camps, pack camps, government and non-profit organizations focussed on conservation and much more.
The event will start with the singing of the National Anthem, and then will open for visitors to search through the many organizations, which will each provide a lesson for participants that is meant to showcase something about what they offer. Visitors will keep track of the booths they visit and will be asked to put in for their favorites for a raffle at the end of the event. During this raffle, nearly 20 special camp spots will be awarded, and general camp signups and information on how to sign up to each camp will be available throughout the day. In total, the collective will be aiding youth financially in over 200 camp opportunities. “Participants will have to do their due diligence and investigate each one of these opportunities,” explained Tom Powers, with Montana Matters Youth Outdoor Experience and Montana Conservation Elders.
The various camps accept kids between the ages of seven to 17 years old. There is no entry fee to the expo, and food will be available for purchase, provided by Mission Bistro from Stevensville. A couple of new organizations involved with the expo will be offering special camps to be auctioned. One will be a kids summer camp, and nonprofit, out of Thompson Falls called Project ASCENT, offering a float camp, which will be a first for the expo. The other is Trout Unlimited which will offer two spots for their Georgetown Lake Camp.
There will also be a climbing wall at the expo and Miss Montana, the famous airplane, may do a flyover. If weather permits, it is possible that there will be jumpers, retired/off duty military and smoke jumper included, doing a jump from the plane down into the fair grounds. The flyover is being organized by the Montana Museum of Flying. According to Pat Collins with the Montana Museum of Flying, Montana’s historic plane wants to be there to support what Tom is doing and because “We love to show off the plane, and to continue to promote aviation and parachuting.” According to Powers, “it’s a very unique opportunity to have them here doing this,” speaking about the flyover and jump. Details on the flyover are being negotiated, and their presence is not guaranteed.
Some other organizations involved will be the Mule Deer Foundation, the Bighorn Sheep Foundation, the Backcountry Horsemen, the Ravalli County Search and Rescue, The Montana Bowhunters Association, the Bitter Root Land Trust, the Foundation for Wildlife Management, the U.S. Forest Service, the Montana Game Warden Association and many more.
Participants and the general public should enter at the Old Corvallis Road entrance on the north side of the fairgrounds. The handicapped entrance will be from the west side. Traffic will be directed by the Ravalli County Sheriff’s Reserve Deputies. “There’s a lot that’s going to happen there!” Powers explained. According to him, there will also be an RV show and several other separate events on the same weekend, close to and in the fairgrounds.
In total, since 2013, Montana Matters Youth Outdoor Experience has given over 600 opportunities to youth to attend camps. They feel as though it is a partnership among all the organizations involved. “Our organization’s philosophy is so that no one organization involved can take credit for this,” said Powers.
For more information about the event, interested parties can visit the group website www.mtconservationelders.org.