Boy Scouts Learn Forestry on Their Own Tree Farm

When Boy Scouts from the Blue Ridge Mountains Council of the Boy Scouts of America set out to earn their merit badges in forestry, they have their own forest laboratory to learn the skills they need. The 13,600-acre Boy Scouts’ Blue Ridge Scout Reservation, nestled in the steep mountain valleys of Pulaski County, Virginia, is also a certified Tree Farm. The reservation’s forested hillsides of oak, hickory, pine and hemlock are being managed for timber income, water quality, wildlife habitat and recreation as part of the American Tree Farm System’s® (ATFS’s) newest Independently Managed Group.

I ndependently Managed Groups, or IMGs, provide a way for a third party—in this case, Richmond-based packaging company MeadWestVaco (MWV)—to hold a Tree Farm certificate on behalf of a group of private landowners. There are now 15 IMGs holding certificates for the private owners of more than 5.5 million acres of ATFS-certified forestland across the United States.

As the certificate holder for the Blue Ridge Scout Reservation, MWV foresters worked with the conservation committee of the Boy Scouts’ Blue Ridge Mountains Council to develop a comprehensive, 41-page management plan for the land. As the Scouts implement the plan, MWV also ensures that certification standards are met, coordinates inspections and helps plan sustainable timber harvests. Company foresters serve as on-theground advisors.

Having a Scouting center that is also a certified Tree Farm provides a terrific learning experience for the more than 10,000 youth who come to the Blue Ridge Scout Reservation every year. They use the expansive forest classroom to hone their outdoor skills, build and maintain trails and earn merit badges in subjects including forestry.

“The Tree Farm program is a good fit for us because it means we’re harvesting timber in a responsible manner, and thinking about the health of our forest for the long term,” says Greg Harmon, Director of Camping for the Boy Scouts’ Blue Ridge Mountains Council. “Training the next generation of conservationists is an important focus at the Blue Ridge Scout Reservation, and the forestry merit badge is a huge part of our education program. Part of that badge is to talk to either a forester or a land manager about what it means to manage the forest responsibly so it will be healthy 50 or 100 years from now.”

Bettina Ring, senior vice president for family forests with the American Forest Foundation, sees the new IMG as a win for all concerned. “Participation in the new IMG speaks to the Boy Scouts’ commitment to engaging youth in learning more about forest stewardship,” she notes. “It also demonstrates MWV’s strong corporate commitment to sustainably managed forests. The addition of nearly 14,000 acres of sustainably managed woodlands to the Tree Farm System through this new IMG helps ATFS meet its commitment to ensuring healthy, well-managed forests for the future while also growing the next generation of conservation leaders.”

MWV forester Shelby (“Lee”) Spradlin has worked closely with Boy Scout leaders to develop the management plan for the reservation and oversee its implementation. “ It has been a sincere pleasure to assist members of the Blue Ridge Mountains Council of the Boy Scouts in meeting their forestry objectives,” he says. “Through our Cooperative Forest Management Program, MWV has been providing forest management assistance to the Scouts for almost 20 years. Having the Blue Ridge Scout Reservation become an ATFS-certified Tree Farm has been truly gratifying for me—and is well-deserved recognition for them.”