Industry Partners and Elders Give to Make Sure Youth Can Come to Camp

The Boone and Crockett Club’s Lee & Penny Anderson Conservation Education program at the Rasmuson Wildlife Conservation Center (RWCC) on the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch (TRMR) officially re-opened its doors for the 2024 season on April 1, 2024.

In that short amount of time, we have already hosted seven place-based K-12 field trips consisting of 128 students and 17 teachers! Off-site, our wheels have been in overdrive gear since February, racking up appearances at wildlife conservation organization banquets, statewide conservation expo’s and instructional archery demonstrations in area schools. Our total tally of individuals reached by these efforts is estimated at over 1,700!

In other exciting education news, the Club’s Outdoor Adventure Camps have received tremendous support from an industry leader, Vortex Optics, and a MT based conservation organization, Montana Conservation Elders to help provide scholarship funds for youth from all across Montana and beyond to attend a 5-day summer camp at the TRM Ranch and RWCC!

This additional support from two longstanding partners in conservation will effectively double the number of scholarships available in 2024, knocking down any preexisting financial barriers and will help to overcome tuition related burdens for families across the state. Scholarships are being offered on an as needed basis for those that apply and by raffle style drawings at two separate youth outdoor education events across the state this spring.

One of these events was a “first-ever” opportunity in Helena, MT on April 13th and had an astonishing 700 participants walk through the doors to learn from dozens of Montana based conservation organizations including groups like MT Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the Wild Sheep Foundation, Audubon Society, and many more! The next event will be in Hamilton, MT on May 4th where we expect just as many attendees.

With a full slate of educational programming on deck for the summer months, the staff at the RWCC can’t wait for what’s to come! And if you haven’t already, be sure to check out the newest virtual education piece from the Conservation Education department, our Fair Chase and Hunter Ethics online course.

Students and Teachers from the De La Salle Blackfeet School in Browning, Montana were at the RWCC for a field trip on April 8th when a partial solar eclipse passed through the Big Montana Sky.