CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Buckskin Council of the Boy Scouts of America has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources which will clear the way for a partnership between the two organizations.
Governor Jim Justice announced the agreement this week which will allow the scouts to camp for free after completing service projects at two park locations. The two parks named in the agreement are Pipestem Resort and North Bend State Park, but DNR Director Brett McMillion said locations can be adjusted.
“I think as time goes on it will grow. We’re starting with just these two state parks, but we can open it up to any others and we look forward to growth,” he said.
Scout troops will now be able to plan and execute projects on the State Park grounds in coordination with park personnel. The work could include a range of opportunities and will give the scouts a chance to learn new skills and earn merit badges in the process. The park system will get the benefit of the free labor, which can be substantial if properly coordinated.
“You’d be surprised. We’ve had the question posed at times are these just ‘vanity’ projects? But when we couple them with our maintenance crews at our State Parks they can really do some fantastic work,” McMillion explained.
He cited as an example the Governor’s Summer Youth Program which used to do a lot of work to maintain hiking trails in the State Park system. Once the program ended, there was a clear falling off of work on those trails. McMillion hoped it could be restored with the scout projects.
The agency already has similar agreements with other organizations. The State Parks have coordinated in the past with county technical education centers to provide real world experience for students learning carpentry, plumbing, and similar skill training. The agency has also partnered with the Mountaineer Challenge Academy for similar kinds of projects. The current agreement is with the Buckskin Council of the Boy Scouts which encompasses a considerable chunk of West Virginia, but there are other councils in the state and McMillion said they are hoping to strike similar agreements with them as well.
Under the MOU, scout troops who perform the work will be allowed to camp during the open season in Pipestem and North Bend free of charge as availability allows.
McMillion said another potential benefit to the agency will be the projects can serve as possible on the job training and set the wheels in motion for a career in the park system where they are always looking for personnel.
“I think this could be a possible career path for some of them. The parks are so deeply bedded in conservation and promotion of tourism and I really think the scouting lifestyle contributes to that perfectly, ” he said.