We are now accepting applications for the seventh annual River Conservation and Fly Fishing Youth Camp, June 10-15, 2012 at the High Lonesome Ranch near DeBeque, CO. Applications must be received by April 15, 2012. The camp is designed to educate 14 to 18 year old students on the importance of coldwater conservation and provide hands-on fly fishing instruction. Approximately 20 students are selected each year, based on their qualifications and a written essay on why they would like to attend the camp.

“Our hope is that kids who attend our camp today will become the conservation leaders of tomorrow," said Shawn Bratt, a veteran youth camp counselor and winner of national Trout Unlimited's Outstanding Youth Education Volunteer. "It’s important for these students to understand the value of healthy streams and clean water and how they relate to our everyday lives. The camp curriculum has been structured to provide the necessary foundation for that education.”

Camp classes include: principles of ecology, hydro-geology, aquatic vertebrate and invertebrate sampling, hydrology, trout behavior, trout stream entomology, the biology of pollution, acid deposition, and politics of conservation and human effects on the Rocky Mountains.

In addition, the camp will include hands-on classes such as fly tying, fly casting, streamside ethics, angling literature, streamside botany, wader safety and survival, and the evolution of an angler. Students will also participate in a watershed project to repair habitat in a nearby stream.

The River Conservation and Fly Fishing Youth Camp includes faculty from various environmental fields and state agencies such as the Colorado Division of Wildlife, Department of Environmental Protection and National Forest Service. The cost to attend the six-day camp is $450. Download the materials below or contact Mike Nicholson at 303-987-8425 for more information.

• 2012 River Conservation and Fly Fishing Youth Camp Flyer
• 2012 River Conservation and Fly Fishing Youth Camp Application

For Parents

• Parents will receive an information packet which contains several forms that require a parental signature, after the student has been selected for the camp.
• All camp personnel undergo a background check through the national Trout Unlimited organization.
• Campers "camp out" in tents under close supervision, and are expected to bring proper equipment.
• Flight leaders supervise the camp and both male and females are represented.
• Food is catered by local company and all is cooked on the site.