Upcoming sportsmen’s show at UMaine to support wildlife conservation, student scholarships and youth education
The Penobscot County Conservation Association (PCCA) of Brewer, Maine will be sponsoring its 78th Eastern Maine Sportsmen’s Show March 11–13 at the Memorial Gym and Field House. The show will include over 120 exhibitors of canoes, fishing and fly-tying equipment, hunting dogs, taxidermy, boat and marine supplies, outdoor wear, archery, camping, backpacking, ATV’s and other outdoor recreational equipment. There will also be a variety of interactive demonstrations and outdoor-related presentations.
Proceeds from the show help support a variety of conservation activities sponsored by PCCA, including investments in scholarships for students majoring in wildlife ecology at UMaine and in wildlife biology at Unity College.
PCCA’s scholarship program began in 1960 with a $150 scholarship awarded to a UMaine student majoring in fish and game management. Over the years, that program has grown to 21 scholarships provided annually to University of Maine students, 10 scholarships to students at Unity College, and three scholarships to students at the University of Maine at Machias. The total amount of scholarship and other support for students majoring in wildlife-related disciplines has totaled more than than $1.3 million, helping attract and retain hundreds of students interested in pursuing careers in wildlife management and conservation.
The Penobscot County Conservation Association also has a long history of sponsoring Maine youth to attend summer conservation camps, student research projects and conservation programs statewide. Since 1958, PCCA has maintained a clubhouse near the shores of the Penobscot River in Brewer, Maine that it shares with other conservation groups, student organizations and professional societies that embody its visions of wildlife conservation, outdoor education, habitat protection, and sustainable management and use of natural resources.
The association also owns and manages a 1,300-acre wildlife management area in Stetson, Maine that is used as a demonstration area for wildlife-habitat management and for outdoor recreation. Several fields on the property host an active program to propagate the American chestnut tree, the iconic and ecologically important species that has been on the brink of extinction.
The Eastern Maine Sportsmen’s Show is PCCA’s largest annual fundraising event. This year’s hours are: 5–9 p.m., March 11, 9 a.m.–8 p.m., March 12 and 10 a.m.–3 p.m., March 13. Single-day tickets are $8 (children under 11 free); an unlimited weekend pass is $15.