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| The instructors at Western Montana School for Guides are a great team with a wealth of knowledge about living and working in the outdoors. They are highly experienced in their field, and are motivated and dedicated to giving you what you need to accomplish your goals. Guest speakers also are featured during the program, such as biologists, veterinarians and game wardens. | ||
| Meet the Instructors | ||
| The Director of Education, Scott Boulanger, has many years of combined hunting, education, business and outdoor experience. Before discovering his dreams in Montana, Scott operated an electrical contracting business in the Northeast. But in 1990 he decided to change his life and headed West. He completed training as a professional guide and began working for several outfitters under the "big sky." He took clients on hunting trips, backcountry trips and began teaching others to be guides. |
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| By 1994, Scott was packing for the U.S. Forest Service during emergencies and provided packing and guide services in New Mexico, Colorado and Montana. In 1998, Scott began developing the business plans for the Western Montana School for Guides-a new school with the "real world" approach. | ||
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| Ron Skinner brings to the Western Montana School for Guides almost a half-century of equestrian experience, including all phases of horsemanship and packing. An expert in assisting students with little experience to achieve high levels of proficiency in packing and managing horses and mules. Ron has taught others to ride since his boyhood in northern Wisconsin. After moving to Montana in 1975, Ron began packing and working cattle off saddle horses, attending numerous horsemanship clinics and became skilled in raising and training mules for riding and packing. Now a respected breeder and trainer of quarter horses, Ron has hunted in Montana for almost 30 years and has guided and packed Montana and Idaho for 20 years. | ||
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| Hi, I'm Russ Lewis. I started here at Circle KBL and Western Montana School for Guides in the spring of 2003. I moved here from Alaska where I taught elementary school for thirteen years and raised my children. Guiding was always my passion. Every chance I got I was guiding in one aspect or another. The past few years I have given up the classroom to travel to different states to guide and spend the winters in Alaska. Now my home is here in the beautiful Bitterroot Valley. I have had the privilege to hunt or guide interior grizzlies from the far northern regions of Alaska to antelope in southern Colorado. I have transplanted my roots here, because I feel this is the best educational facility for students wanting to hunt or guide here in the Rocky Mountain Region. All the instructors are knowledgeable and bring a great wealth of information to the school. If you are thinking you want to hunt or guide in this incredible region of the U.S. then this is the school for you. I hope to see you here and in the woods. | ||
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My name is Merle Kleen. I
will be your instructor in the map and compass class. I am a retired airline pilot. I have about 55 years experience in aviation navigation. I have about 20 years experience navigating with the same latitude and longitude co-ordinates that we will be using in class. You will also learn to plot a course on maps using a compass. I have 5 years experience serving in Ravalli County Search and Rescue in the Bitterroot Mountains of Western Montana, with two of those years as the training officer. I also have about 20 years of part time guiding and packing experience in Idaho. The class will consist primarily of learning the 7 1/2 minute topographical maps, with some discussion of other maps. There will also be a short outdoor exercise, as well as some brief discussion about GPS receivers. I will also hold a short class in gun safety. I am not a certified safety instructor, however, I have a lifetime of experience with rifles, shotguns and handguns. I have attended self-defense handgun classes with two nationally known instructors. I have also attended an NRA gun safety class, as well as handgun training with the local sheriff's department while in Search and Rescue. The class will be about guns safety with hunters and horses. |
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| Hi, my name is Mike Conner. I am an instructor at the Western Montana School for Guides and a guide for circle KBL Outfitters. I am originally from the North East where I owned a hunting and fishing all outdoors store. I also guided whitetail, black bear, and moose hunts in the Northeastern States. When I decided to make my living as a full time guide I found that most outfitters wanted guide school students. I spent many hours looking at different schools. When I talked to Scott Boulanger and Russ Lewis from the Western Montana school for guides I knew this was the school I wanted. Their knowledge and experience in this business is what makes the WMSG what it is. A 28 day course that teaches you what you need to know to become a professional guide. It was the best move I ever made. I hope you make it too. | ||
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I’m Kristi Schmidt, and was born and raised an |
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