Facilities and Amenities
After renovations during the 2016-2017 academic year, the French Conservation Education Camp is now equipped to accommodate up to 50 students and instructors for as many as 3 concurrent courses. The camp consists of two properties: the main camp property and the Bailey property, located a half-mile west along West Fork Fish Creek Road.
Descriptions and photos of main spaces are below. For more details, please download this PDF of facilities
Office building and faculty apartments
The office building includes a reception/office area and three large faculty apartments- two on the ground floor and one upstairs. Each apartment features its own entrance, bedroom with King bed, bathroom, living room, and kitchenette area with sink, microwave, and mini fridge.
Student Cabins
12 student accommodation units (in 6 duplex cabins) can house 4 people each. Each unit features 4 twin beds (in one or two bedrooms), a bathroom, living room, and kitchenette with microwave and mini fridge.
Dining Hall and Kitchen
A former restaurant, the dining hall features cozy cabin-style decor and can seat up to 50 people for meals. A sitting area around the fireplace with a TV and DVD player is a great place for guests to have a movie night or relax with friends. There is a full commercial kitchen and extra storage space in the basement.
Classroom
The classroom space includes a 9 foot dry-erase whiteboard and a large flat screen TV which presenters can connect a laptop to (via HDMI cable) to show slides. A small library of books and reference materials are in the glass-front shelves at the front of the room. The number of tables and chairs in the room can be adjusted to fit the group size. Generally, it can accommodate a maximum of ~35 people at a time.
Laundry
The laundry building includes three washers, three dryers, a sink, several tables for folding, and linen storage space. Washers and dryers are free of charge (not coin-operated).
Outdoor spaces
The camp also features many nice outdoor spaces such as a fire pit, horse shoe pits, swing set, half basketball court, gazebo, and pond. The west fork of Fish Creek runs right next to camp. The property is surrounded by the Lolo National Forest. At the end of the road, just 1-mile from camp, is the Clearwater Crossing campground, where three different Forest Service trail heads head out into the Great Burn Proposed Wilderness area. Fish Creek State Park and wildlife management areas are also just a few miles down the road.
The Department of Natural Resources Ecology & Management is committed to exemplary stewardship of the natural amenities surrounding the French Camp, and welcomes opportunities to serve and collaborate with conservation organizations, state and federal agency partners, and academic institutions.