Scouting in New Mexico

The Tooth of Time, an icon of Philmont Scout Ranch.

Scouting in New Mexico has had a rich and colorful history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live. The state is home to the Philmont Scout Ranch.

Early history (1910–1950)

Burnham with BSA Troop, Carlsbad Caverns, 1941

On May 11, 1941, the Boy Scouts of America honored Major Frederick Russell Burnham on his eightieth birthday, at Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico. Burnham had only recently returned from Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge which he had dedicated with the Boy Scouts in Arizona after a long campaign to save the Desert Bighorn Sheep.^[1]

Recent history (1950–1990)

Scouting in New Mexico today

There are five Boy Scouts of America local councils in New Mexico.

Conquistador Council

Located in southeast New Mexico, the Conquistador Council office is in Roswell, New Mexico. The Kwahadi Lodge #78 of the Order of the Arrow serves local Arrowmen.

• Chisum Trail District
• El Llano Grande District
• Oil Patch District
• Rio Hondo District

Grand Canyon Council

Main article: Scouting in Arizona

Grand Canyon Council serves Scouts in Arizona and New Mexico.

Great Southwest Council

The Great Southwest Council of the Boy Scouts of America is headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and provides Scouting to youth in northern New Mexico, northeast Arizona, Utah south of the Colorado River, and the Durango and Mesa Verde areas of Colorado.

Great Southwest Council is home to Cimarron, New Mexico's Philmont Scout Ranch, the oldest of the national high-adventure bases operated by the Boy Scouts of America.

The Great Southwest Council's summer camp program is based at the Gorham Scout Ranch,^[2] located near Chimayo, New Mexico^[3] northwest of Pojoaque, New Mexico.^[4]

Although the Mesa Verde District^[5] of the Great Southwest Council includes San Juan County, Colorado, the council no longer owns or operate the Cascade Scout Camp located in the San Juan National Forest, north of Durango, Colorado, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[6]

• Anasazi District
• El Valle Manzano District
• Encantado District
• Mesa Verde District
• Northern New Mexico District
• Sandia District
• Santa Fe District
• Zuni Mountain District

South Plains Council

Main article: Scouting in Texas

South Plains Council serves Scouts in Texas and New Mexico.

Yucca Council

Main article: Scouting in Texas

Yucca Council serves Scouts in Texas and New Mexico.

Girl Scouting in New Mexico

Three Girl Scout Councils serve New Mexico.

Girl Scouts Arizona Cactus-Pine Council

See Scouting in Arizona. Serves, in northwestern New Mexico, girls in the Navajo Nation.

Headquarters: Phoenix, Arizona
Website: http://www.girlscoutsaz.org

Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails

Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails serves some 5,000 girls in 23 counties in northern and central New Mexico.

It was formed in November 2007 by the merger of the two previous councils of Sangre de Cristo and Chaparral.

Headquarters: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Website: http://www.nmgirlscouts.org/

Camps

• Camp Elliott Barker located near Angel Fire, NM
• Rancho del Chaparral located in the Jemez Mountains

Girl Scouts of the Desert Southwest – Southern New Mexico & West Texas

Further information: Scouting in Texas#Girl Scouts of the Desert Southwest – Southern New Mexico & West Texas

Formed from the May 1, 2009 merger of Zia, Permian Basin and Rio Grande Councils.

Headquarters: El Paso, TX
Website:

Service Centers in New Mexico

• Deming, NM
• Artesia, NM
• Las Cruces, NM
• Silver City, NM

Camps in New Mexico

• Camp Pioneer

Scouting museums in New Mexico

Main article: Scouting museums

The Scouting Museum of New Mexico, run by Dennis Downing at 400 South First Street in Raton, New Mexico, is open daily from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm from June through August, and by appointment from September through May. Privately owned at a private facility, displays include Wood Badge, Philmont, Order of the Arrow, National Jamboree, international Scouting, Scout books and magazines, videos, reference library, and also rotates loaned exhibits, in the summers only. Admission is free.

See also

Scouting portal

• Theodore Roosevelt
• Asociación de Scouts de México, A.C.

References

1. ^ Edward H. Saxton (March 1978). "Saving the Desert Bighorns". Desert Magazine 41 (3). http://www.scribd.com/doc/2404512/197803DesertMagazine1978March. Retrieved 2008-04-27. 
2. ^ Boy Scout Camp Program, Great Southwest Council, 2009. Accessed 2009-02-24.
3. ^ Year-Round Use of Camp, Great Southwest Council, 2008. Accessed 2009-02-24.
4. ^ Map to Camp, Great Southwest Council, 2009. Accessed 2009-02-24.
5. ^ Mesa Verde District, Mesa Verde District of Great Southwest Council, 2009. Accessed 2010-01-30.
6. ^ National Register Information System^{[dead link]} National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service. Retrieved April 11, 2007.

External links

• http://www.conquistador-bsa.org
• http://www.gswcbsa.org