Bay-Lakes Council

Bay-Lakes Council
Owner	Boy Scouts of America
Headquarters	Appleton, Wisconsin
Country	United States
Founded	1973
President	Mark Johanssen
Council Commissioner	Warren Kraft
Scout Executive	Mark Logemann
Website http://www.baylakesbsa.org

The Bay-Lakes Council is headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin, serving Scouts in northeastern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. Bay-Lakes Council #635 was formed on July 1, 1973, the product of a merger between six northeast Wisconsin councils. Bay-Lakes Council is geographically one of the largest local councils in the United States. The council is served by Kon Wapos Lodge #635 of the Order of the Arrow.

Organization

Bay-Lakes Council has a professional staff of approximately 33 people. There are over 27,000 boys in the council's 23 counties in northeast Wisconsin, and 14 counties (all but Gogebic) in Michigan's upper peninsula. There are 320 Cub Scout packs, 230 Boy Scout troops, 90 Venturing crews and 75 Explorer posts and over 6,000 adult volunteers.

Districts

Bay-Lakes Council is divided into eight districts.

• Gathering Waters District covers parts of Calumet, Winnebago & Waupaca and all of Outagamie and Shawano counties.
• Hiawathaland District covers Michigan's upper peninsula; formerly Hiawathaland Council.
• Kettle Country District covers Ozaukee county, and parts of Dodge and Washington counties.
• Lakeshore District covers Calumet, Manitowoc and Sheboygan counties.
• Ledge to Lakes District covers Fond du Lac, Green Lake, and Marquette counties.
• Northern Lights District covers Marinette, Oconto and Langlade Counties and part of Menominee county in Upper Michigan.
• Twin Lakes District covers Waupaca, Waushara, and Winnebago counties.
• Voyageur District covers Brown, Door and Kewaunee counties.

Board of Directors

The council's board of directors comprises the seven district chairpersons, the council president, council commissioner, and council treasurer.

Endowment

An endowment fund has been created for Bay-Lakes Council to help ensure the financial viability of the council into the future.

History

Neckerchief slide from historical Waumegesako Council

Bay-Lakes Council was formed in 1973 by a merger of the following councils: Badger (based in Fond du Lac), Waumegesako (based in Manitowoc), Nicolet Area (based in Green Bay), Valley (based in Menasha), Twin Lakes (based in Oshkosh), and Kettle Moraine (based in Sheboygan). The Hiawathaland Council joined in 2012. The history of each of these parent councils is depicted below.^[1][2]

Camps

Bear
Paw

Twin Lakes

Gardner Dam

Rokilio

Maywood-
Wilderness

Jax

Hiawatha

Bay-Lakes Council camps (click on markers for Geohack maps)

The Bay-Lakes Council offers five main summer camp programs:

• Cub Scout World Camp Rokilio, a three-day Cub Scout camp
• Gardner Dam Scout Camp, which is geared toward older Scouts and offers many high-adventure activities
• Bear Paw Scout Camp, primarily for week-long summer camping
• Camp Twin Lakes offering a 4-day program for Webelos to transition into Boy Scouts
• Camp Hiawatha for Boy Scout and Cub Scout resident camping in the UP.

There are also two small, rustic camps:

• Camp Maywood-Wilderness near Wautoma is primarily used for Wood Badge and JLT courses
• Jax Camp in Door County is a base for high adventure such as sea kayaking and sailing.

Bear Paw Scout Camp

Main entrance to Bear Paw

Bear Paw's waterfront, viewed from Chapel Point

Nestled on the shores of beautiful Bear Paw Lake 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Mountain, Wisconsin in the Nicolet National Forest, Bear Paw Scout Camp has year-round camping, both indoor and outdoor, but is primarily a week-long resident summer camp for Boy Scouts. In addition to rustic campsites and heated cabins for camping, Bear Paw has several permanent buildings supporting its program areas, a well-stocked trading post for snacks and memorabilia, a spacious enclosed chapel on a wooded point overlooking the water, a large and modern dining hall providing the camaraderie of communal meals, a lakeside fire circle for evening council fires and ceremonies, and a nine-hole disc golf course. Hiking trails range from short, in-camp jaunts to destinations such as Explorer Point to longer treks to Oconto County features such as Lost Mountain, Staff Mountain, and Waupee Rapids. Marked cycling trails up to 50 miles (80 km) long criss-cross the peaceful forest roads in the vicinity of camp.

The following merit badges and fun activities are offered at each of these program areas during summer camp:^[3]

• Adventure: Cycling merit badge; backpacking and mountain biking overnights and day trips, lake canoeing/kayaking/sailing, whitewater tubing, volleyball, disc golf
• Aquatics: Canoeing, Lifesaving, Motorboating, Rowing, Small Boat Sailing, and Swimming merit badges; open swimming/snorkeling/boating
• Climbing: Climbing merit badge; open climbing
• Order of the Arrow: Indian Lore and Archeology merit badges; also the lodge holds calling-out and brotherhood ceremonies and offers the Kon Wapos Award for Scouts to earn.
• Outdoor Skills: Camping, Fingerprinting, First Aid, Fishing, Geocaching, Orienteering, Pioneering, and Wilderness Survival merit badges; Totin' Chip and Firem'n Chit classes, day hikes, Outdoor Code and Leave No Trace sessions, Paul Bunyan Woodsman Award, and badminton
• Eagle Challenge: advancement requirements for Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class ranks
• Ecology/Conservation: Astronomy, Energy, Environmental Science, Fish/Wildlife Management, Forestry, Mammal Study, Nature, Reptile/Amphibian Study, Soil and Water Conservation, Space Exploration, and Weather merit badges; nature center and nature trail, star hikes, rocketry
• Handicraft: Art, Basketry, Communications, Leatherwork, Woodcarving merit badges; learn how to make leather projects, tie-dyed clothing, hemp necklaces, and survival wristbands
• Shooting Sports: Archery, Rifle, and Shotgun merit badges; open shooting, including black powder muzzleloaders

Besides summer camp weeks, Bear Paw's sixteen campsites and four heated cabins can be rented by scouts.^[4] Some events and programs offered throughout the year include shooting sports, Maple Syrup Days, Cooking merit badge, Paul Bunyan Woodsman Award, geocaching, orienteering, and wilderness search and rescue.

The camp has a website.

Camp Twin Lakes

Camp Twin Lakes is located on County Road K, 11 miles (18 km) south of Waupaca, WI. The camp is 425 acres (1.72 km²) of woods and meadowland. It has three lakes that are used for swimming, boating, canoeing, and fishing. During spring, summer, and fall seasons, there are sixteen campsites. The sites range from improved sites for group camping to leave-no-trace sites that are ideal for backpacking. Some of the campsites are family campsites for registered scouters and family.

The camp has many hiking trails both in camp and out of camp. There are a 0.5-mile (0.80 km) nature trail and 2-mile (3.2 km), 3-mile (4.8 km), and 5-mile (8.0 km) trails. Out of camp trips can be 10–15 miles (16–24 km).

There are three winter buildings, two housing twenty-four people and one for eighteen. At the present time none of the buildings are co-ed. Separate arrangements can be made for female leaders for sleeping at camp with their units.

Camp Twin Lakes is close to Nordic Mt. Ski Hill and Hartman Creek State Park for cross-country skiing. Cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, sledding and ice fishing are available in the winter in camp.

Originally designed for Cub Scout Day Camp, Camp Twin Lakes is now the home of Twin Lakes Webelos Resident Camp. It is open during the summer for sessions that last four days (Sun-Wed and Wed-Sat). Webelos get a taste of what it is like to be a Boy Scout. This not only helps out the number of Webelos crossing over to Boy Scouts, but it also helps the Webelos have a better summer experience.

Gardner Dam Scout Camp

Founded in 1932,Gardner Dam Scout Camp is located along the Wolf River near the town of White Lake in Langlade County. Gardner Dam offers a variety of merit badges and numerous High Adventure opportunities. Located along the Wolf River, Gardner Dam features Whitewater Kayaking, Tubing, and Fishing. The camp inhabits both sides of the river with one side being dedicated to campsites and the other side being dedicated to the numerous program areas. Unlike most camps, Gardner Dam is a patrol cooking camp, meaning that the scout troops cook their own meals in their campsites being provided the various ingredients from the camp's commissary. There is a man-made "pond" fed directly from the Wolf River. The water flows freely through the pond and is held in by a dam. Because of this design, the water avoids becoming stagnant, because fresh water is constantly being fed from the river. Gardner Dam also has a 40 ft (12 m) climbing tower available for Climbing merit badge and climbing during free time. In 2008 a brand new state of the art shooting sports facility was built. The shooting sports area has a section for both rifle shooting and shotgun trap shooting. The camp is also available in spring, fall, and winter months for scout troops to come and camp on their own. In the off-season, troops may stay in either the older Wisconsin Electric lodge, or the newer Wausau Homes Adventure Lodge, which has indoor bathrooms, including showers.

Cub Scout World, Camp Rokilio

This camp was originally founded in 1926 as a Boy Scout Camp. Original funding came from several service clubs: the Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, and later the Optimist clubs, hence the name Rokilio. Cabins were built and Rokilio became a winter destination as well. Sledding down the driveway from the cabins to the dining hall became classic. Camp Rokilio is 213 acres (0.86 km²) of hilly terrain with tall timber located in the Kettle Moraine 7 mi (11 km) east of Kiel, Wisconsin. The camp is on Cedar lake and has a waterfront. In the late 1990s, Cub Scout day camp moved from Twin Lakes, and Cub Scout World at Rokilio was created. The camp features six program theme buildings: Fort J.J. Keller, Gold Miner's Village (this is no longer in use due to the new Webelos camp, Twin Lakes), Gunderson Viking Bäten, Knauf Space Station, Kohler Castle, and Oertle Train Station.

The buildings are home to 15 sessions of four-day and three-night Cub Scout resident camp from June through August, and weekend use by all units the remainder of the year. Cub Scout World, Camp Rokilio offers waterfront activities in Cedar Lake, BB guns and archery ranges, and a natural bog conducive to nature hikes and environmental studies.

Camp Hiawatha

Founded in 1967, this camp now consists of 800 acres around Bunting Lake in the Hiawatha National Forest south of Munising, Michigan. The camp provides eight developed campsites for Boy Scout and Cub Scout resident camps, a number of buildings to serve the programs and activities, and a few cabins that can be rented by families.^[5]

Order of the Arrow

Bay-Lakes Council is served by the Kon Wapos Lodge of the Order of the Arrow. The Kon Wapos totem is the snow shoe hare,^[6] and the number is 635.^[7] This lodge was formed as the 2013 merger of Ag-Im and Awase lodges.

Awase Lodge #61 was chartered on January 1, 1974. The name Awase, originally derived from the word owasse, which means "bear" in the Menominee Indian language, was adopted as the name for this lodge, which was created as new lodge, due to the merger of the six Northeast Wisconsin Councils. The original lodges, Shaginappi, Sinawa, Chequah, Wa Zi Ya Ta, Day Noomp, and Wolverine chose lodge #61 for the new Awase Lodge. Some arrowmen have chosen to correlate the lodge number "61" to signify "six lodges to one" (circa 2010).

Ag-Im Lodge #156 was formed in 1945 from Northwoods Circle Lodge #156 (originally part of Copper Country Council), Ottawa Lodge #198 (originally part of Iron Range Council), and Minnewasco Lodge #250 (originally part of Red Buck Council).

The ancestry of each of these lodges is depicted below.^[8][9]

See also

• Scouting in Wisconsin

External links

• Bay-Lakes Council
• Awase Lodge #61
• Kettle Country District
• Gardner Dam Camp
• Bear Paw Scout Camp

References

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