Scouting in New Mexico has had a rich and colorful history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live. The state is home to the

Philmont Scout Ranch Philmont Scout Ranch is a ranch located in Colfax County, New Mexico, United States, near the village of Cimarron. Donated by oil baron Waite Phillips, the ranch is owned by Scouting America. It is a high adventure base where crews of Scouts ...

Early history (1910–1950)

On May 11, 1941, the Boy Scouts of America honored Major

Frederick Russell Burnham Major (rank), Major Frederick Russell Burnham Distinguished Service Order, DSO (May 11, 1861 – September 1, 1947) was an American scout and world-traveling adventurer. He is known for his service to the British South Africa Company and to t ...

on his eightieth birthday, at

Carlsbad Caverns Carlsbad Caverns National Park is a national park of the United States in the Guadalupe Mountains of southeastern New Mexico. The primary attraction of the park is the show cave Carlsbad Cavern. Visitors can hike in on their own via the natural ...

, New Mexico. Burnham had only recently returned from

Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge (CPNWR) is located in southwestern Arizona in the United States, along of the Mexico–United States border. It is bordered to the north and to the west by the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range, to the ...

which he had dedicated with the Boy Scouts in Arizona after a long campaign to save the

Desert Bighorn Sheep The desert bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis nelsoni'') is a subspecies of bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') that is native to the deserts of the United States' intermountain west and southwestern regions, as well as northwestern Mexico. The ...

. In 1918, the

Albuquerque Council Scouting in New Mexico has had a rich and colorful history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live. The state is home to the Philmont Scout Ranch. Early history (191 ...

(#412) was founded. It changed its name to the Bemalillo County Council (#412) in 1926. The council changed its name again in 1927 to the Rio Grand Area Council (#412). In 1934, the Rio Grande Area Council became the Northern New Mexico Council (#412). In 1920, the Carlsbad Council and the Roswell Council (#413) were founded. They merged in 1924 to become the Pecos Valley Council (#413). In 1925, the Pecos Valley Council became the Eastern New Mexico Council (#413). In 1927, the Gila Grande Council (#579) was formed, merging with the El Paso Area Council (#573) in 1930. In 1927, the Kit Carson Council (#574) was formed, merging with the Rio Grande Council (#412) in 1929. Lake in Camp Wehinahpay

Recent history (1950–2024)

In 1955, the Northern New Mexico Council (#412) became the Kit Carson Council (#412). The council changed its name in 1976 to the Great Southwest Area Council, and again in 1982 to the Great Southwest Council (#412). In 2024, the Great Southwest Council and the Yucca council merged to form the

High Desert Council High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift to ...

Great Southwest Council

The Great Southwest Council was a council that was headquartered in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

, which provided

Scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

to youth in northern New Mexico, northeast Arizona, Utah south of the San Juan River, and the

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

and

Mesa Verde Mesa Verde National Park is a national park of the United States and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Montezuma County, Colorado, and the only World Heritage Site in Colorado. The park protects some of the best-preserved Ancestral Pueblo ...

areas of

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. The council was merged with the Yucca council in 2024, to form the High Desert Council.

Yucca Council

Yucca Council was a council that served Scouts in Texas and New Mexico, until it was merged to form the High Desert Council in 2024.

Scouting in New Mexico today

There are five

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

(BSA) local councils in

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

Conquistador Council

Located in southeast New Mexico, the Conquistador Council office is in

Roswell, New Mexico Roswell () is a city in and the county seat of Chaves County, New Mexico, Chaves County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 48,422 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fi ...

Organization

*Chisum Trail District - Eddy County *El Llano Grande District - Curry, De Baca & Roosevelt Counties *Oil Patch District - Lea County *Rio Hondo District - Chaves County *Sierra Blanca District - Lincoln County

Camps

* Camp Wehinahpay, Wehinahpay Mountain Camp * Dowling Aquatic Base * Camp Jim Murray

Order of the Arrow

The Kwahadi Lodge #78 of the Order of the Arrow serves local Arrowmen.

Grand Canyon Council

Grand Canyon Council serves Scouts in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

and New Mexico.

Organization

*Rio Grande District *San Juan Mountains District *Sangre de Cristo District *Sandia District

Camps

The Great Southwest Council's summer camp program is based at the Gorham Scout Ranch, located near

Chimayo, New Mexico Chimayo is a census-designated place (CDP) in Rio Arriba and Santa Fe counties in the U.S. state of New Mexico. The name is derived from a Tewa name for a local landmark, the hill of Tsi Mayoh. The town is unincorporated and includes many neigh ...

northwest of

Pojoaque, New Mexico Pojoaque (; Tewa: Pʼohsųwæ̨geh Ówîngeh/P'osuwaege Owingeh ’òhsũ̀wæ̃̀gè ʔówîŋgè, Po’su wae geh, which translates to “water gathering place”, is a unincorporated community in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States. It ...

. Great Southwest Council is home to

Cimarron, New Mexico Cimarron is a Village (United States), village in Colfax County, New Mexico, Colfax County, New Mexico, United States, which sits on the eastern slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The population was 792 at the 2020 United States census, 20 ...

's Philmont Scout Ranch, the oldest of the national high-adventure bases operated by the

. Although the Mesa Verde DistrictMesa Verde District
Mesa Verde District of Great Southwest Council, 2009. Accessed 2010-01-30. of the Great Southwest Council includes

San Juan County, Colorado San Juan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 705, making it the least populous county in Colorado. The county seat and the only incorporated municipality in the county is Silv ...

, the council no longer owns or operate the Cascade Scout Camp located in the

San Juan National Forest The San Juan National Forest is a U.S. National Forest covering over 1,878,846 acres (2,935.7 sq mi, or 7,603.42 km²) in western Colorado. The forest occupies land in Archuleta, Conejos, Dolores, Hinsdale, La Plata, Mineral, Montezum ...

, north of

Durango, Colorado Durango is the home rule city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of La Plata County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 19,071 at the 2020 United States census. Durango is the home of Fort Lewis College ...

, and listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

South Plains Council

South Plains Council serves Scouts in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and New Mexico.

Girl Scouting in New Mexico

Three Girl Scout Councils serve New Mexico.

Girl Scouts Arizona Cactus-Pine Council

Most of this district is in Arizona but as the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation (), also known as Navajoland, is an Indian reservation of Navajo people in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. The seat of government is located in ...

straddles the border the portion of it in northwestern New Mexico is also included in this district.

Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails

Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails serves some 5,000 girls in 23 counties in northern and central New Mexico. It was formed in November 2007 by the merger of the two previous councils of Sangre de Cristo and Chaparral.

Camps

*Camp Elliott Barker located near Angel Fire, NM *Rancho del Chaparral located in the Jemez Mountains

Girl Scouts of the Desert Southwest

Formed from the May 1, 2009 merger of Zia, Permian Basin and Rio Grande Councils. Serving Southern New Mexico & West Texas.

Organization

Service Centers in New Mexico * Deming, NM * Artesia, NM * Las Cruces, NM *

Silver City, NM Silver City is a town in Grant County, New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat and the home of Western New Mexico University. As of the 2010 census the population was 10,315. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,704. History ...

Camps

* Camp Pioneer

Scouting museums in New Mexico

The Scouting Museum of New Mexico, formerly run by Dennis Downing was located at 400 South First Street in

Raton, New Mexico Raton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Colfax County, New Mexico, Colfax County in northeastern New Mexico, United States. The city is located just south of Raton Pass. The city is also located about 6.5 miles south of the New Mexico–Col ...

, is permanently closed. The museum was privately owned at a private facility, displays included

Wood Badge Wood Badge is a Scout leader training program, first implemented by The Scout Association, The Boy Scouts Association in the United Kingdom in 1919 and subsequently adopted, with variations, by some other Scout organizations. Wood Badge Course ...

, Philmont,

Order of the Arrow The Order of the Arrow (OA) is the honor society of Scouting America, composed of Scouts and Scouters who best exemplify the Scout Promise, Scout Oath and Scout Law, Law in their daily lives as elected by their peers. It was founded as a camp fr ...

National Jamboree In Scouting, a jamboree is a large gathering of Scouts and/or Girl Guides who rally at a national or international level. History The 1st World Scout Jamboree was held in 1920, and was hosted by the United Kingdom. Since then, there have been tw ...

, international

, Scout books and magazines, videos, reference library, and also rotated loaned exhibits. The National Scouting Museum is located at Philmont Scout Ranch, 4 miles south of Cimarron, NM on NM-21. The National Scouting Museum is also home to the Ernest Thompson Seton Memorial Library.

External links

Conquistador-BSAGSWCBSA

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scouting in New Mexico Youth organizations based in New Mexico

Western Region (Boy Scouts of America)

Early history (1910–1950)

Recent history (1950–2024)

Great Southwest Council

Yucca Council

Scouting in New Mexico today

Conquistador Council

Organization

Camps

Order of the Arrow

Grand Canyon Council

Organization

Camps

South Plains Council

Girl Scouting in New Mexico

Girl Scouts Arizona Cactus-Pine Council

Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails

Camps

Girl Scouts of the Desert Southwest

Organization

Camps

Scouting museums in New Mexico

See also

External links

References