In an attempt to provide clarity on training grounds access, we have created the following policies:

Use of Other Training Grounds: We wanted to provide some clarity on other local training grounds. This is a work in progress, but please see this document for more info on areas that may or may not be available outside of normal training days: For more details, Land Use By Members.

Use of Helmville Training & Testing Grounds: Please read the Land Use By Members - Helmville - Ovando Area and follow the link in this document to become an approved land user and host. If you want to review the availability of the Helmville property, please see this calendar. You will see where the grounds are booked. If you are not an approved land user, you can reach out to someone at a time that aligns with your availability.

Resources for others seeking to join informal training groups: This link will gain you access to a list of approved hosts open to meeting up outside of formal training days. Please understand that they may not always be available when you are, so please be patient or try to connect with someone else on the list.

This link will gain you access to a list of other Big Sky Members who are looking to connect and train. Whether you have access to non-Chapter property or are an Approved Land User, consider reviewing this list and looking to help one another out.

Guests are welcomed, but this means you will also need to help others out with their goals for the day. And sometimes, the person who has booked may not have time in their schedule to include you. If you are an Approved Land User, you may want to also use the calendar to plan out your times.

Training passes for Approved Land Users and those that are newer to our organization are available by asking a Board Member. They are good for both off-cycle training days and also for official training days. The cost is $50 for 5 days, $90 for 10 days, and $170 for 20 days. You’ll find the contact info for our board members here.

Owners of homers always appreciate donations to offset costs to maintain their flock. Feel free to contribute a bag of feed once a season! The increased use of these properties will likely decrease our official training day attendance and increase our financial allocations to the land owners whose property we are using.