The Crowley family wants the five people who have competed in the CBS reality television show, “Survivor,” to feel right at home when they test their skills in the third annual Durham Warriors Survival Challenge, Aug. 28-30 at Maine Forest Yurts in rural Durham.

To that end, the Crowleys anticipate the new challenges they’re setting up this year in the forest course will test those people – as well as the contestants who never have been on “Survivor “– much as they would be challenged on the actual show.

Bob Crowley, who won “Survivor: Gabon” and the $1 million prize in 2008, knows the drill. So does his right-hand man, Kevin Thurber of Topsham, who has spent many months building the challenges that soon will be arranged around tiny Walkabout Pond.

“These challenges are a step up on what we’ve had,” Bob Crowley said last week. “They’re more challenging, and they’re sophisticated. Kevin is a little ‘type A.’ He just can’t stand mediocre.”

Said Thurber: “We want to make them think they’re on ‘Survivor.’”

This year’s Durham Warriors Survival Challenge is truly a family affair, as the Crowleys’ daughter, Page Crowley, runs Maine Forest Yurts, the forest huts campground that the Crowleys built in Durham and where veterans can stay, free of charge. Last year’s challenge brought in $10,000 toward that cause.

Son David Crowley, who lives in California but is “on location” now, has taken part in conference calls all year, to organize the more than 50 volunteers needed to make a venture of this magnitude work.

“It’s for a good cause,” David Crowley said. “It’s just a lot of fun, too, for everyone who likes a lot of challenges and outdoor stuff. If you can’t get in on ‘Survivor,’ it’s the next best thing.”

The winner of the Durham Warriors Survival Challenge won’t get a million bucks, but he or she will win something truly emblematic of Maine – the “Bobster” trophy, made of lobster shell by Bob Crowley’s cousin, Gordon Hurtubise of Cape Elizabeth. Contestants pay $300 to enter, and that money goes into the kitty, with proceeds from food sales and donations also helping to finance the Durham Warriors Project.

As impressive as this year’s Durham Warriors Survival Challenge might be, so, too, is the list of competitors, which includes former “Survivor” contestants, including one winner, Ethan Zohn of Manhattan, who won “Survivor: Africa” in season 3. Other former “Survivor” competitors who will compete include Kathy Sleckman of “Survivor: Micronesia” in season 16; Jimmy Tarantino from “Survivor: Nicaragua” in season 21, Spencer Bledsoe of “Survivor: Cagayan” in season 28, and Maine’s Dan Foley from the most recent season, “Survivor: Worlds Apart.”

The Crowleys will not divulge the number of contestants prior to the start of the challenge. Last year, three teams, comprising seven contestants each, morphed into one squad consisting of the final 11, the MEGEZO team, after tribal councils whittled down the field. From that point on, they competed as individuals. Laura Burns of Chicago was the winner, by a 7-2 vote of the jury, which consisted of the final 11.

Once the contestants arrive in Durham, they will sleep in tents and yurts in the woods, and then be assembled into the competing tribes. The Crowleys say they expect more than 20 of the 60 applicants from 25 states will be competing. John Zataha of Arizona, the master of ceremonies, selected the “cast.”

Thurber, who competed the first year, put his carpentry skills to the test in building the challenges.

“I started in May and I’m still building,” Thurber said.

The Crowleys’ first priority is Maine Forest Yurts, and the veterans who visit them.

“It’s going well,” Peggy Crowley said. “Page has been running it year-round. We’re so booked up that we’re going to be putting up a third yurt. Hopefully, it will be ready before the snow flies.”

The work of their son and daughter allows Peg and Bob Crowley to tend to their beautiful, spacious farm.

“I’m continuing to just maintain our farm and the apple trees and building maintenance,” Bob Crowley said.

He expects the Durham Warriors Survival Challenge to continue for a while.

“I don’t really see an end to this, really,” Bob Crowley said. “We’ve got a lot of people who like the event and we’ve heard a lot of great stories from the veterans and the nonprofits who have been here, and we want to keep them coming.”

Kevin Thurber, left, and Bob Crowley stand near Walkabout Pond at Maine Forest Yurts, the site of the Durham Warriors Survival Challenge, coming Aug. 28.Staff photo by Larry GrardPage Crowley and her famous father, Bob, are nearing the finish line in organizing this year’s Durham Warriors Survival Challenge, which begins on Aug. 28. Staff photos by Larry GrardPeggy Crowley holds “The Bobster,” the prize that will go to the winner of this year’s Durham Warriors Survival Challenge.