Council Camps and their natural resources

[Abel Magwitch]

http://www.seattlepi.com/specials/scoutslogging/map/

 

In recent years there has been some substantial logging at my council camp. There have been some major areas clear cut leaving a huge scar in the earth. The council put a cope course in one of these areas. Cope becomes pretty tough with the sun beating down on the kids due to the lack of trees.

 

What a shame.

 

Abel

[Eagle92]

As a former COPE director who helped build part of the COPE course, that is SOP for building a course to my knowledge. Construction crews have to bring in heavy equipment and supplies, and usually you need a large clear area to set up and build the course. Also there are safety standards that do need to be met, including distance from objects. Not a defense for clear cutting, but giving an FYI on why some new courses have wide open areas. Usually you do have regrowth, but it does need to be maintained for safety purposes. Yes it wasn't fun clearcutting and burning the area that would be the COPE course, but it was necessary.

 

I do have a few questions.

 

1) was there any type of problem with the trees? I know at one of the camps I worked at, there was some type of pest that was destroying the trees. Long story short, the state forestry service came in, stated that we needed to do some clearing to save the most viable trees. Large tracts of the reservation had only 1 tree in a 30' radius, and if memory serves, a "service road" was put in to separate the infected area form the uninfected area. Was not pretty. Some logs were harvestable, and the money went into much needed work at the camp: dam was rebuilt, building refurbished, etc.

 

2) Are there plans to build new facilties in the camp? I know that one camp did do some major cutting, don't know if you wuold call it clear cutting though, in order to build new campsites and buildings. In essence they were going to build a whole new camp.

 

3)Are they working in conjunction with the forestry service? In reading the article, I know it states that 'Some experts say its harmful" or words to that effect. But there are others who don't. Form my Eco History ( yes there are such courses) I know that there are two schools of thought on conservation, and one of the key dividing points is the use of cutting as a means of forest preservation. the Pinchotian (sp)school of thought views it as land management and a means of preventing forest fires, overpopulation of native fauna, etc. While the other beleives that you need to leaves things as they are an let nature run its course.

[shortridge]

Just FYI, the logging issue was discussed previously when that report came out almost two years ago (January '09).

 

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