by John Dowd
Montana Matters Youth Outdoor experience and Montana Conservation Elders are at it again, with another free youth event. According to event organizers, this may be the biggest one they have held, and they encourage everyone to attend.
Every year, the organizations host a conservation and camp fair where numerous groups set up booths complete with fun activities and more. All are geared towards youth and the outdoors. Montana Matters Youth Outdoor Experience and Montana Conservation Elders hold two of these events every year, in the spring. The first this year was held last weekend, in Helena, on April 18. The next one will be in the Bitterroot and will take place on May 2 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
In the past, the Bitterroot event was held at the Ravalli County Fairgrounds. However, according to Tom Powers, Secretary of Montana Conservation Elders, this year the event will be held at the Daly Mansion. “This is an amazing opportunity,” commented Powers. According to the organizers, they were offered the opportunity by Farmers State Bank, which Powers said has a contract with the mansion. The opportunity will benefit both parties, he explained, as not only will the event take place all around the grounds, but the mansion itself will be open for tours. All of this, the event and visiting the mansion, will be free to event goers.
The event is built to connect young people with potential summer camp and adventure opportunities, as well as conservation organizations. Throughout the day, participating youth will get a paper signed off by various booths (not including camp booths), and once they collect a specified number of visitation signatures, they will get an opportunity to put into the organization of their choice for a drawing for a guaranteed spot in one of their summer camp offerings. According to the organizers, this is a major opportunity because some of these camps can be very expensive and are often a once-in-a-lifetime excursion.
The event will also see the Ravalli County Sheriff Deputy Association reserve officers, as well as the Ravalli County Search and Rescue. There will be a variety of opportunities for kids to learn about numerous outdoor activities in Montana, including trapping, hunting, fishing, hiking, kayaking, pack animals, archery, climbing, conservation and much more.
Fred Unchurch, an organizer with the event and member of Montana Conservation Elders, added that they have been doing this since 2013, and every year it keeps growing. Visitors to the May 2 event can expect over 50 organizations, including most of the camps that Montana Matters Youth Outdoor Experience and the Montana Conservation Elders fund.
With this being the first year this event will be held at the mansion, organizers are excited, saying it will be a fantastic partnership. For the organizers’ part, the Daly Mansion grounds are beautiful, offer plenty of shade, much more room for parking and a lot more room for groups to spread out than in previous locations.
The grounds, including the front tree area and the rear sporting field, are going to be utilized by various organizations. This leaves a lot of space for fly-casting, archery and more. One group the organizers wanted to highlight that will need more space was the Ninemile mule pack train. “That’ s always exciting for everybody,”said Jim Kalkofen, an organizer for the event.
Kalkofen will also be helping with the Flathead chapter of Walleyes Unlimited of Montana and The National Association of Professional Anglers, who will be giving away nearly 50 spin cast outfits to youth.
The event will have a 30-foot climbing wall, the Mule Deer Foundation will be hosting their shooting gallery again and the Wind River Bear Dog Institute will be giving a demonstration with their dogs.
Lewis and Clark Trail and Adventures will be bringing their 24-foot canoe, which they will be taking youth down the Missouri River on during their summer camp. That trip will start at Fort Benton, and they will float down about 47 miles, camping at two known Lewis and Clark Expedition camp sites. Montana Matters Youth Outdoor Experience will be sponsoring spots for youth on that trip.
Another 40-mile camp-and-float trip will be offered by Project ASCENT. There will also be sponsored spots for their Bitterroot Adventure. The nonprofit organization is based out of Thompson Falls, but does camps all over the western part of the state for all Montana youth. All their camps are completely free to participants, but given on a first-come-first-serve basis for youth who apply.
There will be a fire lookout presentation done by John Crawford, who spent over 30 years manning lookout towers. He also builds models of lookout towers and will be bringing one of those during his presentation.
Last year, Montana Matters Youth Outdoor Experience funded over 25 camps. This year, they are doing almost 30, and according to Upchurch, their policy is, “No kid left indoors.” For them, that mission is paramount. It all started with their first camp, hosted by the Teddy Roosevelt Ranch, which was the first one they funded. Soon after, they added Glacier Institute, Jack Creek Preserve Foundation and camps just started being piled on. On top of that, the organizations also fund their own Magruder and Scripps campouts.
All the camps range from single days to many being over three to four days. These camps include ones hosted by Raised at Full Draw, The Boon and Crocket Club, Montana Trout Unlimited and many more.
The event will see participation from groups like Project Healing Waters, Wild Sheep Foundation, Montana DNRC, the Whitecap Rifle and Pistol Range, the Bitterroot River Protection Association and more.
During the event, food will be available for purchase at various food trucks, including Fin, Fur and Feathers, ice cream by Firestone Ice Cream, and options for coffee, pastries and more.
The organizers hope the opportunity to host at the mansion renews every year and say that it is good for all parties. “It’s so important to get more kids out there,” said Kalkofen.
They added that this year they held their third banquet, which is where the vast majority of their funds come from to sponsor youth on these adventures. This year, they raised over $80,000 for that goal. “The community’s financial support is wonderful,” said Powers. Kalkofen added, “People understand that, if seniors like us are involved in getting kids out there, people see that’s a good thing, and they want to be a part of it.”
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