Applications Now Open for Colorado Trout Unlimited’s 2026 River Conservation and Fly Fishing Youth Camp

Deadline is March 1 for per week of STEM-based conservation training and hands-on fly fishing within the Colorado excessive nation. Picture courtesy of Colorado TU

Functions are formally open for the 2026 Colorado Trout Unlimited River Conservation and Fly Fishing Youth Camp, a weeklong immersion in coldwater conservation and angling expertise for youngsters. The camp runs June 14–20 at AEI Basecamp in Almont, Colorado, nestled on the confluence of the East and Taylor rivers within the coronary heart of the Gunnison Valley. The appliance deadline is March 1, 2026.

Open to youth ages 14–18—from incoming highschool freshmen by way of outgoing seniors—the camp blends classroom instruction with in depth time on the water. The curriculum covers river ecology, aquatic entomology, hydrology, and what organizers describe because the “politics of conservation,” alongside sensible expertise together with casting, fly tying, knot craft, and streamside ethics. No prior fishing expertise is required.

This system is aggressive: roughly 20 to 24 campers are chosen annually primarily based on their purposes, which embrace an essay explaining their curiosity in conservation and fly fishing. Desire is given to first-time attendees. The camp is totally volunteer-led, and Colorado TU can also be accepting purposes for full-time camp counselors and junior counselors (ages 18–20).

Tuition for 2026 is $700 plus a $50 registration price, which covers meals and a rod-and-reel combo. Monetary help is accessible—Colorado TU awarded over $12,000 in camp tuition scholarships final 12 months, and native chapters actively sponsor college students from their areas.

The Colorado camp is a part of a broader national network of 25 Trout Unlimited youth camps and academies throughout the nation. The mannequin traces again to 1995, when Pennsylvania’s Cumberland Valley Chapter launched the unique Rivers Conservation and Fly Fishing Youth Camp beneath the steerage of Dr. John R. “Jack” Beck and Enoch S. “Inky” Moore. That program has since impressed chapters nationwide to develop their very own camps, drawing on skilled useful resource managers, scientists, fishing guides, and skilled TU volunteers as instructors.

Camp graduates are inspired to proceed their involvement by way of Trout Unlimited Expeditions, a nationwide conservation and management program. The 2026 Expeditions will take college students into Wyoming for coldwater fisheries work in partnership with the Bureau of Land Administration.

Dad and mom and potential campers can apply at coloradotu.org/youthcamp. For questions, contact Colorado TU’s Natalie Flowers at [email protected] or (720) 879-0271. These looking for scholarship help ought to attain out to their local TU chapter as a primary step.