EVANSTON — The Uinta County Youth Camp celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and plans are in the works for a big celebration. Ron Taylor, the facilities operations manager for the camp, said his office is in the early stages of discussion with county commissioners on a celebratory party.

On Nov. 10, 1972, Stuart Parker, realty specialist for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), met with the Uinta County Commission, which included Hight M. Proffit, Eugene C. Taylor and L.S. “Ren” South, along with Agricultural Extension Agent Wayne Asay. Parker brought a land sale patent for the 643.24 acres to be used as a youth camp.  The county agreed to pay $10 an acre for the land, with the condition that if the land was not used for the benefit of youth in Uinta County, it would revert back to the BLM.

The camp is located in a beautiful site at the foot of the Uinta Mountain range near Meeks Cabin Dam outside Robertson.  Over the last five decades the camp has been a location for many of the youth in Uinta County to enjoy. The camp is divided into many areas: an upper area with a main lodge and 12 cabins, including a VIP cabin for those with special needs; a lower river area with a smaller lodge and campsites; a yurt with an outside cooking area; rifle, shotgun and pistol ranges and a fishpond. The Blacks Fork River also runs through the camp. 

“The youth camp has been through many changes over the years,” Taylor said. “The Wyoming 4-H program has helped to fund many projects at the facility. The 4-H sport fishing program helped bring electrical power to the fishpond and helped purchase the aerators to keep the fish from dying from winterkill.”

Taylor said the National Rifle Association Foundation (NRA) also funded a grant to rebuild the shooting range facility and a Daniels Fund grant helped to enclose the river pavilion at the river camp area and assisted in bringing electrical power to the fishpond area. Taylor added that a Community Block Grant also helped to fund the river shower house, upper shower house and handicapped ramps in the upper and lower camp areas. 

“Many Eagle Scout, Girl Scout and 4-H leadership projects — along with a number of church and family projects — have also contributed to improving the youth camp. These projects have been instrumental in helping to teach the concept of ‘service to others’ to all of these groups.”

In addition, Taylor said, the youth camp has been supported by many other individuals, groups and departments with continued support from the Uinta County Commissioners and the following Uinta County departments: Maintenance, Road and Bridge, Planning, Sheriff, Fire and Ambulance, Conservation District and the Weed and Pest District. Taylor said continued support has also come from the following: the Bureau of Land Management; Wyoming Game and Fish Department; Wyoming State Forestry, Wasatch National Forest and landowners in the general area.

“We used to be open year-round,” Taylor said, “but now we open May 1 and close Sept. 30. During the winter, we do building checks and go up to get any heavy snow off roofs of buildings. During the impact of COVID in 2020, we got federal funds and were able to use that for maintenance and stabilization of cabins, which was great because those cabins are 40 years old.”

Taylor told the Herald about two tragedies that affected the camp. The first happened on June 15, 2010, when the Blacks Fork River flooded and took out the River Camp. The second was Aug. 8, 2016, when the Tokewanna forest fire in the area of Meeks Cabin burned for 28 days and destroyed much of the upper camp area. Taylor said they are still reeling from the devastation from that fire and are working with State Forester Barry Tye on a fire mitigation plan in the area.

According to Taylor, the camp serves more than 40 groups a year with bewtween 3,000 and 4000 people staying there anywhere from one day to a week at a time. He said one great thing about the camp is that it’s private and secure. The Bridger Valley Archery Association, church groups and a disabled veterans group are among patrons at the camp, which also hosts family reunions and weddings, Taylor said. 

Photos, information, applications and fees for reserving the youth camp can be found on the Uinta County website (uintacounty.com). Interested parties can call Ron Taylor at 307-783-0509 or Darby Noorda in the Uinta County Planning & Engineering Department at 307-783-0318. 

“I have been with the county since 1995, when I was hired on as a carpenter,” Taylor said. “My favorite part of what I do now is I have been fortunate enough to see buildings go up and witness the growth of the youth camp. I love to see the good it does for people who stay there.  It is a beautiful environment and peaceful. My motto is ‘Take pride in your work, have courage, always work for tomorrow and the future.’”