If there is an event promoting conservation and outdoor education for kids in the Bitterroot Valley, you can bet that BRTU will be there!

And the Montana Matters Youth Experience on May 6 will be no exception! BRTU has been participating in these expos for at least 1/2 dozen years.

Tom Powers has been the driving force behind the Expo since the first one in 2013.

The Expos have been extremely successful and the number of attendees has skyrocketed over the years. This demonstrates that the youth of today is extremely interest in conservation and outdoor activities of all sorts, including flyfishing. And the number of groups and agencies responding to this interest has also greatly expanded. In fact, there are so many participating groups this year that the organizers have moved the event to the Ravalli County Fairgrounds.

There was an excellent article about the May 6 Expo in today's paper. Among the attractions for 2023 are a climbing wall, bear awareness info, BB gun and archery ranges, and a demonstration by the celebrated US Forest Service Ninemile pack string. If you've never seen that pack string, it is really something.

BRTU will have a booth and will be offering flycasting instruction using our yarn rods. Greg Chester is leading this effort and he is looking for a few more volunteers to help us out. If you can help, let Greg know.

The event is free and will be open Saturday, May 6 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Access to and parking for the event is via the Ravalli County Fairgrounds entrance at 100 Old Corvallis Road.

One of the features this year for kids 7 - 17 will be opportunities for scholarships at several summer camps, including the Trout Unlimited camp.

If you would like additional information, please contact BRTU Chapter President Dave Ward or Greg Chester.

Please note that Montana Matters Youth Expo is completely distinct from the youth event scheduled at Teller Wildlife Refuge later in May. I will feature that in a later newsletter.