by Michael Howell
It’s time once again to celebrate the great outdoors! After a lapse of a couple of years due to the pandemic, the Teller Wildlife Refuge is once again hosting a Youth Conservation & Education Expo. It is a one-day event scheduled for Saturday, May 7 at which almost every non-profit organization, local, state and federal agency that has anything to do with conservation, wildlife or outdoor recreation, takes part.
The aim, according to Education Program Director Nicole Ballard, is to provide an interactive outdoor experience that gives youth a conservation message, information about the organizations and agencies working to protect these values, and at the same time engages them in safe, responsible and fun outdoor and wildlife-related conservation and recreational activities. The event is free and geared towards youth, but all ages are welcome. With dozens of booths surrounding the Slack Barn, there will be plenty of things to see, a lot to learn and a lot of fun to be had.
Besides setting up educational booths – many with associated activities and games – most of the organizations involved also donate funds to support the costs of putting on the event and to underwrite the costs of sending approximately 160 youth to outdoor-themed summer camps across the state. The number of kids and camps varies from year to year. In order for a youth to receive a summer camp scholarship, she or he must visit at least 12 of the booths at the Expo. They can then select which summer camp they are interested in attending by putting their name in that camp’s drawing at the registration table. The winners are randomly drawn at the end of the Expo event.
Tom Powers, a key organizer of the first Expo, said after being shut down for a couple of years due to the pandemic they thought it was time to re-group and start up again. He said the last Expo in 2019 was the first to be held indoors. It was held at Fort Owen Ranch in mid-winter and 411 kids and adults were counted passing
through in three hours’ time.
“Having all these groups and agencies together in one place at the same time is a wonderful thing,” said Powers. “It’s an incredible learning opportunity for the young people in the valley.”
Powers said the summer camps that the youth have a chance to attend are all outdoor adventure camps.
“Every camp offers something a little different,” he said, “and it’s all paid for by participating organizations, some agencies, some private individuals, and a couple of grants.”
One camp, the Glacier Institute, is only for 9 to 11 year olds. The others, including the Jack Creek Reserve, Raised At Full Draw, Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch, and Lubrecht State Forest, among others, accept 9 to 17 year olds.
Fred Upchurch of the Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association said that his organization has been a strong supporter of the event since its inception. They make a cash donation to help pay for camp scholarships regularly. He said at one point they were doing so well that they realized they needed more camps in the mix. So they instituted two new local camps. One is located at the Magruder Ranger Station in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness and the other is located on the Scripps Ranch up the West Fork. At the Magruder Camp the youth learn to pack horses and even take an overnight pack trip, learn about wilderness values and ethics, and maybe learn something about fly fishing from Upchurch. Kids and camp counselors can fish for free at both the Magruder and the Scripps camps. There is also an opportunity for an overnight fishing trip to Baker or Nelson Lake at the Scripps camp as well as an opportunity for some shooting.
There will also be a pellet gun shooting booth at the event where kids will have a chance to sign up for a shooting event at Whittaker Rifle Range. Eighteen will be chosen to go to the Whittaker shooting competition. Two brand new .22 rifles will be awarded to the top two shooters.
Several of the camps offer chances for archery lessons. The Montana Bow Hunters Association is sponsoring a Team Bow Hunter Camp where kids will get to participate in a simulated elk hunt.
Those who attend the Lubrecht Forest camp will also get to float the Clark Fork River through the Alberton Gorge.
Upchurch said, “We are trying to get kids hooked on the outdoors instead of on something like video games. I’m an old man and there’s nothing I enjoy more than watching some young person catch a fish for the first time.”
Both Powers and Upchurch decided to dedicate the 2022 Youth Conservation and Education Expo to journalist, publisher, and life-long conservationist Dale Burk who passed away in 2020. One of the founding members of the Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association, Burk was an ardent supporter of conservation and a strong voice for hunting and wilderness ethics.
“He was a key player in so many things here in the valley,” said Powers, “like the establishment of the Wally-Crawford and John Owen Fishing Access Sites and the battle over Mitchell Slough and fishing access. We are honoring him for all he’s done for the world of conservation.”
This year’s Expo is scheduled for Saturday, May 7, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Slack Barn on the Teller Wildlife Refuge at 1180 Chaffin Lane, Corvallis. Food and beverages will be available.
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