The Properties Committee continues to work on making Camp V-Bar the best Scout camp on the Gulf Coast! If you visited camp recently, you may have noticed a new sign welcoming visitors to camp at the beginning of the entrance road. The Council used funds from the on-going sales of camp maps to which many Council members contributed to pay for this sign. Some other improvements include repairing and painting of the shutters and installing of a new lighted open sign at the Trading Post and a donated six-burner Viking stove for the kitchen. A group of volunteers led by Alan Holekamp also continue to upgrade the interior and audio visual equipment in the Training Center. And, Jack Fernandez coordinated an effort by BWC Terminals to restore the diving board base in time for Summer Camps. Prescribed burning of approximately 1,100 acres at camp will be done this fall to control undergrowth and to enhance the camp’s forestry assets. Finally, future projects that remain in the planning stages include repairs and modifications to the lake dam, road upgrades at camp, and installation of a disc golf course. Please join the effort to improve our camp by signing up for projects during resident camps and by joining regular workdays each month (with the next one being held on October 18th)!
FOREST LEGACY PROGRAM
The Mississippi Forestry Commission recently submitted an application for 1,000 acres of Camp V-Bar to be included in the Forest Legacy Program of the U.S. Forest Service. Under this program, the U.S. Forest Service seeks to identify and to conserve environmentally important forest areas threatened by conversion to non-forest uses. The Mississippi Forestry Commission submitted the camp as the only project from Mississippi to compete on a national level for the next round of funding. If accepted and the Council agrees to enter the program, the program will result in a conservation easement being placed on camp property and an economic incentive for the Council to preserve the camp as a working forest for generations to come. Later this year, the federal officials administering the program will meet to consider proposals from state authorities and to select properties for inclusion in the program.
