Western Regional Conference
June 29 - July 1, 2007

The 2007 FFLA Western Conference will be held June 29-July 1 at the Community Hall on Highway 83 in Seeley Lake, 50 miles northeast of Missoula, 102 miles west of Helena, and 97 miles southeast of Kalispell. The facility will be available for setup Thursday night about 10:00 p.m. (another group has the facility earlier that evening), and Friday morning at 7:00 a.m. Registration will begin at 8:00, with the program planned to kick off at 9:00.

Friday's agenda is planned to focus on restoration planning and activities with presentations on successes as well as challenges. At least one onsite NHLR dedication ceremony is planned for Friday afternoon during a tour to local lookouts. Everyone will be on their own for dinner Friday evening, but plans for later include watching the sun set from Double Arrow Lookout.

The Saturday morning program will tend toward the history and the future of lookouts, as well as the status and future of the FFLA, again followed by an afternoon lookout tour. All the while, the customary silent auction will be taking place, with bidding to close prior to the Saturday evening dinner at the Community Hall. The informal Saturday evening program is planned to include storytelling and other individual presentations. The Board of Directors will also meet during the weekend; at a time to be determined after the conference agenda is firmed up.

A choice of organized lookout tours will be available Sunday, depending on the direction in which people are travelling. Other independent tour opportunities include the Garnet Ghost Town, the Aerial Fire Depot, and the National Museum of Forest Service History site.

Anyone looking for lodging is advised to make reservations early. Seeley Lake is a major summer recreation area, and motels are already starting to fill up for the weekend before the 4th of July. Lodging and other commercial information is available on the Seeley Lake Chamber of Commerce website: http://www.seeleylakechamber.com/businesses.html.

The motels in town are the Wilderness Gateway Inn 800-355-5588 and the Seeley Lake Motor Lodge 800-237-9978. Montana Pines Hideaway 406-677-2278 and Whitetail Cabins 406-677-2024 are a few miles north of town. There are several other resorts, bed & breakfasts and guest ranches in the area. Missoula (an hour drive) has a full spectrum of lodging options.

Camping reservations are less critical, the USFS Big Larch Campground is less than a half mile from the conference site with over 40 first-come, first-served campsites. There are several other campgrounds in the area. RV parking (no hookups) is available in the rear parking lot of the conference facility (after 10:00 p.m. Thursday), and RV sites with hookups are available elsewhere locally.

A $20.00 per person registration fee will cover the cost of the facility, snacks, refreshments and the Saturday night dinner. No formal pre-registration is required, but potential attendees are asked to notify Gary Weber (weblookout@imbris.net) of their plans, number attending, display space/table needs, and auction donations. Lookout lists and directions will be sent to those requesting information for independent touring before the conference.