# Scouting in Oregon

Scouting in the U.S. state of Oregon includes the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and Girl Scouts (GSUSA) youth organizations, as well as newer organizations like the Baden-Powell Service Association and Vegan Scouts.

## Early history (1907–1950)

The Portland Council(#492) was founded in 1916. In 1929, it changed its name to the Portland Area Council (#492), and in 1966, it changed its name again to the Columbia Pacific Council (#492). Finally, in 1993, it merged into the Cascade Pacific Council .
The Salem Council (#493) was founded in 1918. In 1923, Salem Council changed its name to the Willamette District Council (#493). Then in 1926, it changed its name once again to the Cascade Area Council (#493).
In 1926, the Umatilla Council (#738) was formed, and in 1927 it merged with the Blue Mountain Council. In 1926, the Eastern Oregon Area Council (#760) was formed, merging with Blue Mountain in 1932.
In 1921, the Lagrande Council (#494) was founded. It closed in 1924.
In 1922, the Astoria Council (#489) was founded. It changed its name to the Clatsop County Council (#489) in 1923. In 1927, the Clatsop County Council merged into the Portland Area Council (#492).
In 1922, the Corvallis Council (#493) was founded. It closed in 1924.
In 1922, Linn County Council (#491) was formed. It closed in 1924.
In 1924, the Bend Council (#651) was founded. It changed its name to the Central Oregon Council (#651) in 1925. It merged into Mid-Columbia Council (#494) in 1927.
In 1924, the Coos County Council (#490) was founded. It merged into the Douglas-Coos Council (#682) in 1926.
In 1924, The Dalles Council (#494) was founded. It changed its name to the Mid-Columbia Council (#494) in 1925. It changed its name to the Mid-Columbia-Deschutes Area Council (#617) in 1929. The council disbanded in 1934 and the area was served by Direct Service.
In 1924, the Douglas County Council (#682) was founded. It merged into the Douglas-Coos Council (#682) in 1926.
In 1924, the Klamath County Council (#746) was founded. It merged into Crater Lake Council (#491) in 1932.
In 1924, the Medford Council (#491) was founded. It changed its name to the Crater Lake Council (#491) in 1925.
In 1925, the Lane County Council (#697) was founded. It changed its name to the Wallamet Council (#697) in 1933. It changed its name again to the Oregon Trail Council (#697) in 1944.
In 1926, the Cascade Area Council (#493) was founded. It merged into the Cascade Pacific Council (#492) in 1993.
In 1926, the Douglas County Council (#490) was founded from the merger of the Coos County Council (#682) and the Douglas County Council (#682). It merged into the Willamette Council (#697) in 1933.
In 1927, the Benlinncoln Council (#490) was founded. In 1931 it was split with one half of the council going to the Cascade Area Council (#493) and the other half going to the Lane County Council (#697).
In 1936, the Modoc Area Council (#494) was founded. It merged into Crater Lake Council (#491) in 1993.

## Recent history (1950–2010)

The Modoc Area Council (#494) merged into Crater Lake Council (#491) in 1993.
The Columbia Pacific Council (#492) merged with the Cascade Area Council (#493) to make the Cascade Pacific Council (#492) in 1993.

## Boy Scouting in Oregon

There are five BSA local councils serving communities in Oregon, although not all are headquartered in Oregon.

### Blue Mountain Council

The Blue Mountain Council serves Scouts in Washington and Oregon.

### Cascade Pacific Council

Cascade Pacific Council serves Scouts in eighteen counties of Oregon and Washington, including

## History

In 1932, the Mount Saint Helens Council (#704) merged with the Portland Area Council.

### Organization

* Spirit Lake District (serving the Southern Washington Area)
* Pacific Trail District (serving the Beaverton and Hillsboro areas)
* Cascadia District (serving Portland)
* Rivers' Edge District (serving Newberg, Sherwood, and Canby)
* Santiam River District (serving the Greater Salem area)
* Timberline District (serving the area around Mount Hood)
* Mid Columbia District (serving the area around the eastern Columbia River)
* Pacific Shores District (serving the northern Oregon Coast)

### Camps

The council operates a number of camps, including;
* Aubrey Watzek Lodge, a winter recreation lodge on 12 acres of property leased from the US Forest Service
* Camp Baldwin, 680 acre property 17 miles (27 km) west of Dufur in the Mount Hood National Forest
* Butte Creek Scout Ranch, a 670-acre working horse ranch south of Scotts Mills
** Butte Creek Scout Ranch is a working ranch that doubles as a Cub Scout resident camp. Consisting of over 600 acres nestled near Scotts Mills, the property first opened as a summer camp in 1997. During the summers, it is a 3-day and 2-night camp for Cub Scouts ages 5–10. Unlike other resident Cub camps in the council, the Butte Creek Scout Ranch has a Western theme every year. This property is one of the few scout camps that includes a horse riding station and is home to cows, goats, chickens, and sometimes pigs. The Butte Creek Ranch was also the first camp in the council to start a session for girls in the same age group. Originally started in 2007, the program was called "Sisters' Camp" and had the purpose of providing Cub Scout sisters with a similar experience to their brothers. Since 2019 the program serves girls and boys together during all summer sessions. The summer staff is primarily high school students. The property also doubles as the winter location for the council's 70+ head of horses. Twice a year, June and August, 50 of the horses are ridden between Camp Baldwin and Butte Creek along a beautiful route over Mount Hood. The Horse Trek is open to anyone over 13, although Scouts receive a discount. During the winter, Scouts participate in weekend horseback riding and camping on the property. The winters are staffed by a diverse group of volunteers who run rides and help maintain the property.
* Camp Clark, a second camp on the Meriwether Reservation near Tillamook
* Camp Cooper, 240 acres property northwest of Willamina in the coastal forest
* Camp Ireland, 12-acre property in Hillsboro that has been shut down due to lack of scout registration. This is because a majority of cub scouts attending were mormon, and the camp shut down after Mormons stopped endorsing BSA.
* Camp Meriwether, 790 acre beachfront property south of Cape Lookout near Tillamook
* Nanitch Lodge, a winter recreation lodge on 8 acres of property leased from the US Forest Service
* Camp Lewis, 116 acre property near Battleground, Washington
* Camp Pioneer, 48 acre property east of Salem in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness, leased from the US Forest Service
* Royce-Finel, 17 acre property near Astoria

### Order of the Arrow

* Wauna La-Mon'tay Lodge #442 Members provide thousands of hours of service every year to Cascade Pacific Council's camps.

### Crater Lake Council

Crater Lake Council serves Scouts in Oregon and California.

#### Organization

* Wild Rivers District serves Jackson County, Oregon, Josephine County, Oregon, Siskiyou County, California, and Del Norte County, California
* Fremont District serves Crook, Jefferson and Deschutes counties in Oregon
* Klamath District serves Klamath County, Oregon, Lake County, Oregon and Modoc County, California
* Pacific Rivers District serves Humboldt County, California

#### Camps

* Camp Makualla is located on the shores of Crescent Lake in the heart of the Cascades and the Deschutes National Forest.
* Camp McLoughlin is located on the northwestern shoreline of Lake of the Woods of the Fremont-Winema National Forests.

#### Order of the Arrow

* Lo La 'Qam Geela Lodge #491

### Ore-Ida Council

Ore-Ida Council serves Scouts in Idaho and Oregon.

### Oregon Trail Council

The Oregon Trail Council serves more than 5,000 youth, supported by over 2,300 adults in over 260 units. It serves 6 counties in Western Oregon from the Cascades to the Coast including Eugene, Springfield, Corvallis, Roseburg, and Coos Bay. Scouts are served along the famous Oregon Coast from Lincoln City to Brookings.

#### Organization

* Benton District serves Benton County
* Cascade District serves Springfield, Cottage Grove, and eastern Lane County
* Chinook District serves Coos County
* Doug Fir District serves Douglas County
* Greenwood District serves Eugene and western Lane County
* Wacoma District serves Curry County
* Yaquina District serves Lincoln County

#### Camps

* Camp Baker
* Camp Melakwa

#### Order of the Arrow

* Tsisqan Lodge #253

## Girl Scouting in Oregon

There are two Girl Scout councils serving girls in Oregon.

### Girl Scouts of Silver Sage

Serves girls in Malheur County, Oregon with headquarters in Boise, Idaho.

### Girl Scouts of Oregon and Southwest Washington

Formed by the merger of Girl Scouts - Columbia River Council, Girl Scouts of Santiam Council, Girl Scouts of Western Rivers Council, and Girl Scouts of Winema Council in October 2008.

#### Service centers in Oregon

* Bend
* Eugene
* Medford
* Portland
Program centers:
* Albany Program Center is located in a residential section of Albany.
* Lebanon Program Center is a converted schoolhouse located in Lebanon.
* Newport Program Center is located in residential Newport near the beach and the Oregon Coast Aquarium.
* Seaside Program Center is located in residential Seaside near the beach.

#### Summer resident camps

* Camp Arrowhead is 260 acres (1.1 km$^2$) located in the Gorge near Stevenson, Washington. Camp Arrowhead has 260 acres of forest, meadows, trails, and a lake. It was opened in 1948.
* Camp Cleawox is located two miles south of Florence in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. This 47 acres (190,000 m$^2$) site is situated on a freshwater lake. Girl Scouts first started camping there before 1930 and in 1938/1939 substantial work was done by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The property was also leased by other groups until 1949.
* Camp Whispering Winds is located in the forested hills of Kings Valley. The camp includes 220 acres (0.89 km$^2$) and a central lake.
Outdoor Program Centers:
* The Homestead Outdoor Program Center is 32 acres (130,000 m$^2$) located on the historically significant Creighton Homestead in Rhododendron at the base of Mount Hood.
* Mountaindale Outdoor Program Center is located off Sunset Highway in North Plains. Mountaindale has 50 acres (200,000 m$^2$) of woods, a meadow, and a pond.
* Ruth Hyde Outdoor Program Center is 90 acres (360,000 m$^2$) about seven miles west of Grants Pass.

## Baden-Powell Service Association

The Baden-Powell Service Association has six chartered groups in the Portland, Oregon area—more than any other city in the United States.