One of the questions we are asked most often is “What are we doing at Camp Wallowa?”
As you might know, a landslide did some serious damage to the camp – including the destruction of our dining hall - in the summer of 2002. We were forced to close the camp for a while to clean up and to determine the future course of action – on our part and on the part of nature.
Between 2002 and 2004 the council spent over $100,000 on
Camp Wallowa. We restored the road, water lines, and electricity to the
campsites - since they had all been centered on the dining hall and taken out by
the flood. We also began the permitting process with the State of Oregon
and the Corps of Engineers to allow us to fortify the stream banks to prevent
further damage to our downstream building. We did timber stand improvement
projects to reduce the chance of wildfire and to remove damaged trees that might
be hazardous to our Scouts and the public that visits the camp to view the
waterfall.
In 2004 the camp was reopened for weekend camping. Since
then many troops have taken advantage of the beauty of the camp and the
surrounding country and conducted week-long camps.
However, since the
slide raised the level of the river nearly 20 feet and now all of our main
buildings are downgrade, we have delayed further work on any downstream
buildings and/or potential fund raising efforts until the river re-establishes
its channel and we know where we need to spend any money we can
raise.
Earlier this year, after nearly four years of study, the State of
Oregon and the Corps gave us (the council and the adjacent landowners) a final
ruling that we will not be allowed to do any work in the stream bed or banks to
prevent further erosion, nor build another bridge across the river to get to the
Rotary bridge.
But the campsites are in great shape, the shower house is
open, and the mountains are just as magnificent as you remember.
Council
President Lee Boman has appointed a committee to review future plans for
Wallowa. They are going to review the best ways for us to use the camp to
serve Scouts and Scouting in the future. The National Council of the BSA
has offered to develop site plans and building plans that we might
need.
We assure you that Camp Wallowa is part of the future plans of the
Blue Mountain Council and we encourage you to make a visit to the camp as part
of your outdoor program plans.
