People love their National Forests

[Kudu]

Then that same someone waits in the wings to lob ad hominem attacks against any who present counterpoints.

 

No, 83Eagle, an ad hominem response to you would center on your choice of "83Eagle."

 

It would speculate that "Once an Eagle, Always an Eagle" is anti-Scouting (in B-P's annual retesting of outdoor skills sense of the word) in the same way as post-Hillcourt Wood Badge (Larson destroyed GBB's ultra-popular life's work); Cub Scouts (For 20 years James West "resisted the creation of a Cub Scouting program for younger boys, feeling that they would take focus away from the main program, Boy Scouts"); and Webelos III camping (none [zero] of the 20 nights of Webelos III camping required for Eagle would count in B-P's program because they are not Patrol Camping, Journeys, or Expeditions).

 

 

 

 

 

[Kudu]

Basementdweller writes:

 

guess kudu missed his meds yesterday

 

"Contrary to Wood Badge propaganda" was just a throw-away line: So self-evident that it never occurred to me that anyone would object.

 

If I had it to do over again I would follow your advice and snip it.

 

But all the resulting Wood Badge fury raises the obvious question: What are the implications of the popularity of National Forests to "21st Century Scouting"?

 

Back when I recruited in public schools at the beginning of a school year (always six months after our Council had given Webelos to Scout Crossover their best shot), I was usually able to register an additional 28% of the sixth-grade boys by presenting our program as the kind of "National Forest" adventure described in our National Charter ("Scoutcraft").

 

http://inquiry.net/adult/recruiting.htm

 

My target audience was all the boys who had dropped out of Cub Scouts (or never joined).

 

If we assume that 5% of the audience were already Boy Scouts, then 33% of the remaining parents registered their sons as Boy Scouts in my Troop without any promise of schoolwork badges, indoor citizenship, corporate "leadership skills," or "Eagle Scout" on a business resume.

 

You know: The kind of stuff that Baden-Powell told us boys hate, have always hated, and will continue to hate until the end of time.

 

If the Scouts in this "neighborhood in transition" were typical, then (using shortridge's figures) an additional two million (2,000,000) boys (now where have we seen that number before?) would become Boy Scouts if Scouting was about National Forests rather than indoor "leadership skills."

 

See TAY %:

 

http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=286532

 

The obvious question is what would a flood of two million (2,000,000) outdoor "National Forest" Boy Scouts do to the program?

 

Yours at 300 feet,

 

Kudu

http://kudu.net

 

[Eagle92]

having just come back from a national park this weekend and staying at a national forest this past April, here are my comments.

 

1) They are a great resource and love using them with the family. Good hook to get the 3 and 5 year onto camping. The places I stayed both had bathroom faciltiies, firering, tent pad, and latern pole already set up. national forest even had showers.

 

2) I rather go in the "off season," not in the middle of summer with everyone and their mother around. It got a little interesting with lots of folks this weekend.

 

3)Don't wear tan shirt and green pants/shorts. I had folks thinking I was a ranger and askign me questions. And no I wasn't wearing my Smokey Bear either

[qwazse]

Ditto on the "interesting."

 

That's why, ahead of time, you should have your SPL call the ranger's station (sometimes there's one for a variety of parks) and ask about any facilities more suitable for a scout troop. E.g. something that might require hiking/kayaking in a ways. Some forests have them, others don't. Either way a call to the Ranger's office is good practice.

[The Blancmange]

 

Don't wear tan shirt and green pants/shorts. I had folks thinking I was a ranger and askign me questions.

What happened to helpful? ;-)