Youth fly-fishing camp seeks applicants
Youth fly-fishing camp seeks applicants
By Tyler Frantz
The highly acclaimed Rivers Conservation and Fly Fishing Youth Camp has inspired young leaders of the stream for the past 22 years. This year, the Cumberland Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited will hold its 23rd annual camp from Sunday, June 18 through Friday, June 23, 2017, albeit at a brand new location.
According to former Director of Curriculum, Mike Klimkos, the camp had been previously held at Allenberry Resort in Boiling Springs.
“Because of a change in ownership (at the resort) and a consequent remodeling of the entire facility, the camp could not be located there this year,” Klimkos explained. “The camp is moving to Messiah College, about ten miles downstream on the Yellow Breeches from Allenberry. It is a wonderful facility.”
Clark Hall, Chairman of this year’s RCFFYC agreed that the new location would work out just fine. “We are excited about our new venue, the beautiful campus of Messiah College in Grantham, PA,” Hall said. “This will allow campers to experience the atmosphere of a small college campus with a fine trout stream flowing through it. We have an outstanding line-up of instructors and staff too.”
The highly structured curriculum is based on college level classes. Students are instructed in ecology, aquatic biology, geology, hydrogeology, erosion and sedimentation control, ichthyology, riparian corridor protection, watershed management, entomology, and much more.
According to Klimkos, Dr. Tom Sholseth, DVM, MPVM from Vancouver, British Columbia, will again be the keynote speaker. Other instructors from the PA Fish & Boat Commission, DEP, Gleim Environmental and other agencies and groups will round out the curriculum.
Students will also participate in a hands-on stream habitat improvement project. But it’s not all work. There are ten fishing sessions and fly tying instruction too. Over 25 instructors, all experts in their field, will teach the various classes.
Former camper Ben Mummert, now employed by the Central Pennsylvania Conservancy, has fond memories of his experience at the Rivers camp.
“Morning to night we fished, tied, restored habitat, and absorbed experts’ explanations for our mysteries on the water,” Mummert said. “I found brothers and sisters in the other students and won’t forget experiences like electro-fishing and sampling macro-invertebrates.”
“After all of it, I’m more skilled as an angler and better engaged as a conservationist. Because of that week, I'm proud, but humbled and grateful, and I am a passionate member of my newfound community,” Mummert said.
The Rivers Conservation and Fly Fishing Youth Camp was founded in 1995 through the efforts of the late Dr. John R. “Jack” Beck and the late Enoch S. “Inky” Moore, Jr., Pennsylvania Fish Commissioner.
Their goal was to select 32 teenagers each year who were leaders in their class. The thought is that today’s high school leaders become the leaders of tomorrow’s communities. If the camp can implant a kernel of knowledge about the importance of clean water, it may have a positive impact on how water resources are used when those students become the decision makers in their communities. “It is amazing to me that this camp has flourished and spread the way it has,” Klimkos said. “When we began planning for the first camp, Dr. Beck said, "If we can have a camp in every Trout Unlimited state council, that would be great! Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery." Today there are 27 camps modeled after the original Pennsylvania Camp. Jack would be so proud.”
Juniata College student Ryan Heisler attended camp as a student, served as a counselor, and remains active on the camp’s executive board. In his eyes, camp served as the cornerstone of his current academic career.
“I was always a lover of fishing and the outdoors, but when I went to the Rivers Camp, I was still very undecided about my future career goals,” Heisler said.
“The camp opened the door to not only a career in conservation for me, but a door in Trout Unlimited as a whole. After camp, I became more involved in my local TU chapter, working at outdoor shows, as well as keeping involved with the camp itself.”
“It has provided me with a lot of opportunities. It helped me get admitted to my college program at Juanita College, earning a degree in Aquatic Ecology and Fisheries Management. It even landed me a position in TU’s Teen Summit in 2015. The camp has given me so much, and I am thankful for all of it.”
“I tell all the students at camp something when they leave on the last day,” Heisler explained. “I say, “By being at this camp and learning everything you did, you now owe all of us one thing. You need to leave here and continue to be leaders, conservationists, and a good example of what sportsmanship is.”
Admission to the RCFFYC is limited to 32 qualified students, ages 14 to 17. The applicants must have been born between June 23, 1999, and June 18, 2003. The students will be selected through an application process where they must state why they want to attend camp. Camp tuition is $400 per student. All meals and accommodations are included for the residence camp. A student doesn’t have to be an accomplished fly fisher or budding aquatic biologist to attend. The student only needs to be highly motivated and willing to learn.
Doc Fritchey Chapter of Trout Unlimited is actually offering scholarships that would cover all expenses for the first three accepted participants from Dauphin or Lebanon Counties. The only thing asked in return for sponsorship is that students do a presentation about their camp experience at one of DFTU’s fall meetings.
**Adams County students accepted in the 2017 Camp can contact ACTU Chapter Youth Coordinator Hank Rajotte at 717-408-8747 or hank-carol@comcast.net to apply for a scholarship to cover the Camp’s $400 registration fee. The two ACTU scholarships will be awarded on a “first come - first serve” basis.
The Rivers camp is accepting applications now through March 31, 2017. Applying via website is preferred. For more information, or to apply, visit www.riverscamp.com. Questions may also be submitted by emailing riverscamp@gmail.com.
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