The eighteenth annual PA Rivers Conservation and Fly Fishing Youth Camp were held June 17 -22 at the Allenberry Resort in Boiling Springs. The co-ed camp was full with 32 students ages 14 to 17.

The camp was founded by the Late Dr. Jack Beck and PA Fish and Boat Commissioner Inky Moore in 1995 as a way to begin to educate tomorrow’s leaders about coldwater conservation issues.

The college-level classes include principles of ecology, hydrogeology, aquatic vertebrate and invertebrate sampling, hydrology, trout behavior, trout stream entomology, the biology of pollution, acid deposition, and the politics of conservation and the effects of humans on the Chesapeake Bay.

In addition, the camp provides hands-on classes such as fly tying, fly casting, streamside ethics, angling literature, the evolution of an angler, wader safety and survival, and streamside botany.

The students also will have the opportunity to participate in a stream project to repair habitat in a stream.  This event is designed for the students to complete while they are at camp in order that they can observe first -hand the effects of their efforts.

Instructors came from a wide variety of disciplines. There were professionals from the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Gleim Environmental, Ecotone, Inc,  Pennsylvania Trout and the Fish and Boat Commission who is a partner with the camp.

The keynote address this year was again provided by Dr. Thomas Sholseth, DVM, MPVM from Vancouver, BC.  He spoke on the same topic as his book, “How Fish Work”.  The presentation was well received by the students, staff and guests who attended the interactive lecture.  Dr. Tom also included a lab with his presentation where the students examined fish for parasites.

Monday evening Ken Reinard did a presentation as Ye Olde Colonial Angler, and provided information about what fishing was like in the 18th century, including how rods, hooks and flies were made. The students learned fly tying from Kieran Frye, an international award winning fly tyer as well as many other unsung heroes of fly tying.

On Tuesday evening Al Stansbury, a mechanical engineer presented a program on rod building, not tying the guides and setting the cork but rather how carbon fiber is made and then wrapped around a mandrel to create a rod blank. The contrast between Ken's 18th century methods and the 21st century methods was striking.

Fish were plentiful and hungry and thanks to Clark Hall’s compliment of ghillies, all of the students caught fish.  A few students had never fished before let alone fly fished and this class opened up a whole new world to them.

Also on the list of speakers was Meg Murphy, an attorney for the Pennsylvania DEP who explained in clear concise terms how laws, regulations and policies affect the students. But perhaps the classes that got the students most undivided attentions was Reptiles and Amphibians by Chris Urban from the Fish and Boat Commission along with his live specimens. Nothing will keep a class awake in the afternoon like terrariums full of live snakes, turtles, salamanders and lizards.

On Friday morning Rod Cross, Clark Hall, Dan Hill, Catharine Tucker and Dr. Tom presented a panel discussion moderated by Mike Klimkos on careers.  This was followed by a closing session with Devin DeMario of the Fish and Boat Commission.

Former students Ben Mummert and Renae Padamonsky were this year’s camp directors and were aided by Amber Mancini an intern from the 2006 camp.

The Board of Directors of the camp has made a commitment that no potential student will be turned away because of financial need. Sponsorships are available for qualified students. Gear will be loaned to a student if they have never fly fished or tied flies before and do not have their own.

The classes presented to the students, whether in the stream, on the bank or in the classroom planted a seed of conservation knowledge that will last the students a lifetime no matter what their chosen profession.  Sponsorships for tuition are available to qualified students. 

For further information, visit the Rivers Conservation and Fly Fishing Youth Camp  website.

7/2/2012