The Junior Maine Guide Program (JMG) is a long-established  wilderness camping skills program sponsored by the Maine Youth Camping Foundation and the Maine State Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. It is an outdoor skills program designed to foster enjoyable, safe and healthy outdoor living experiences for youth ages 9 - 18.  JMG certification can lay the groundwork for later training and certification as a licensed Trip Leader, as well as provide a lifetime of enjoyment of living in concert with nature in the Maine wilderness.  JMG uses current philosophies in outdoor living.  The program, unique to Maine, was created in 1937 as an act of the State Legislature, in an effort to promote the use of the Maine wilderness for recreation as well as to train new generations of youth to adopt use practices that conserve the environment. It is offered by various Maine summer camps.

Who can Participate?
A camper gets involved in the Junior Maine Guide program through a participating summer camp.  The JMG program is offered at boys', girls' and co-ed camps. For a list of camps that offer the JMG program click here.

Program Description
JMG's goal is to  foster enjoyable, safe and healthy outdoor living experiences for campers ages 9 to 18. These efforts have also resulted in the valuable training and certification of licensed trip leaders in Maine.

The Junior Maine Guide Program is a uniquely Maine activity, with its reference to the legendary Maine Guides, and its emphasis on the State’s magnificent forests, lakes, rivers and mountains.

The program progression is divided into age-appropriate levels of skills that will enrich a camper’s summer program.

There are 3 levels:

• Junior Maine Woodsman (ages 9-12)

• Maine Woodsman (ages 12-14)

• Junior Maine Guide (ages 14-18)

Junior Maine Woodsman & Maine Woodsman are  taught by experienced instructors in a Maine camp. They may be completed in one season, or may be spread over longer periods of time, depending upon the age and skill of the young people who are participating. Award badges are presented for successful completion of these units.

The Junior Maine Guide level requires a candidate to have completed the Junior Maine Woodsman and Maine Woodsman levels (or equivalent), and to successfully complete a five-day testing encampment. 

Final testing takes place during the exciting adventure of a 5-day encampment conducted by the Maine Youth Camping Association in cooperation with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife at beautiful Steven Phillips Preserve, Oquossoc (Rangeley) ME.

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