Council Accepts Camping Task Force Recommendations Enhanced Programs Eyed for Southern Properties; 2015 to be Last Year for Camping at Northern Sites In response to increasing demands from parents for quality outdoor programs closer to home and changing demographics, Three Harbors Council, Boy Scouts of America, will focus on enhancing camping and program opportunities at its two camps in southeastern Wisconsin while ending camping programs at its two northern Wisconsin camps after the 2015 camping season. After extensive review of demographics, camping property conditions, camp program financials, national trends and camping programs, the council camping task force made two recommendations to the council’s Executive Board: 1) ceasing camping programs at the northern properties and 2) maintaining the southern camp operations while exploring ways to enhance program at those two locations. Under the leadership of Council President Rich Galling, the decisions were made by the council’s Executive Board, who on Wednesday, January 21, 2015, voted to accept recommendations of the council camping task force. “The task force will continue to meet to develop recommendations for our southern camps going forward and we will hold listening sessions to gather input from our Three Harbors Council Scouting family,” said Ed Brandon, the council’s Scout Executive/CEO. Those recommendations are anticipated by the end of this year. As a part of the process, the task force visited a number of other camps located in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Brandon stressed that camping and summer camp in particular is still a vital part of the Boy Scout program. Boys will continue to have access to high quality camping. “We will do all we can to help our troops continue to gain access to quality out-of-council camps,” Brandon said. “With seven other Boy Scout camps within 45 minutes of the council’s own northern Wisconsin camps, there are numerous opportunities right here in Wisconsin. About half of the council’s troops that go camping already use out-of-council camps, he noted. Both of the council’s northern Wisconsin camps, LeFeber Northwoods Camps near Laona and Robert S. Lyle Scout Reservation near Elcho, are owned by trusts but used exclusively by Three Harbors Council. The Board’s decision to end camping programs does not include any recommendation on ownership of the properties. “We realize there is a long history to both northern Wisconsin properties and many memories, but our focus needs to be on providing the best camping program experience for future generations,” Brandon added. “Based on the deficits our camps have been running, and changing demographics, we realize a strong camping program experience can be maintained without our two northern Wisconsin operations.” The number of youth in Scouting in Three Harbors Council has held steady while numbers nationwide have dropped over the last several years. Increasingly, however, younger parents are requesting camp opportunities closer to home. Laona is four hours from Milwaukee while Elcho is about three and a half hours away. In contrast, the council’s Indian Mound Scout Reservation near Oconomowoc and its Camp Oh-Da-Ko-Ta near Burlington are close drives for the council’s Scouts in Kenosha, Milwaukee and Racine counties. Camp usage was looked at in terms of “camper days.” Example: a boy attending a week of Boy Scout camp is counted as seven camper days. Last year, the northern Wisconsin properties were used nearly 6,000 camper days while about 45,000 camper days were utilized through outdoor activities at the southern properties, which are open year-round. The task force found that each of the four properties is in need of significant capital investments at a time when camping participation is declining, leading to excess capacity at northern Wisconsin Boy Scout camps. “The need to maintain a dedicated council-run camp in the Northwoods of Wisconsin is minimized due to the heavy concentration of well-funded, well-run camps in the area with excess capacity,” the task force reported. “To offer a summer camp experience of similar quality would require more capital than can be justified.” In addition to $1 million in deferred maintenance that would be required for accredited camp programs at the northern camps, another $12 million would need be to be invested to achieve a “Blue Ribbon” status based on new national standards for Scout camps. The task force also noted the council’s two southern Wisconsin locations are “unique, with few surrounding alternatives, and contain key attributes of successful camp properties: close proximity to the population they serve, year-round program potential and the ability to support all levels of Scouting, including expansion to offer a Boy Scout summer camp program at one or both.” While this decision was in no way based on immediate financial strain, Brandon indicated the council’s Executive Board has a fiduciary responsibility to ensure a financially sustainable program for the future of the council and noted that these changes will help realize that sustainability. Listening sessions on ideas for the southern camps will be held at two locations in February. Details of those meetings will be announced soon. For more information on the finding of the council camping taskforce visit: ThreeHarborsScouting.org
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 23:06:25 +0000
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