Council Accepts New Camping Property July 16, 2008 will be remembered as a historic day in the Blue Mountain Council! At its July meeting the executive board of the council voted to accept the deed to a parcel of land left to the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of the area in the will of Randall M. Martin. The board's action was followed a similar action by the board of the Girl Scouts of Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho. The property, located southeast of Pendleton - almost exactly in the center of the council - consists of over 3,400 acres of hills and wooded valleys ranging in elevation from approximately 2,200' to 3,400'. The North Fork McKay Creek runs through the property and the gift includes barns, shops, and Mr. Martin's home. The two councils are working together and have formed a committee to consider the many issues involved with in jointly managing the property and its continued operation. The councils will not be given full use of the land and buildings until the estate is fully settled, giving the committee time to begin the planning process for the best use of the property for boys and girls throughout the Pacific Northwest. The first event at the property will be the Order of the Arrow weekend on May 15-17, 2009. Full scale camping and activities will begin after the attorney for the estate presents the deed to the councils. Current thought does not include developing the camp into a full-scale Scout summer camping operation. Ideas do however include short-term camping, training events, Order of the Arrow activities, and specialty camps. Mr. Martin’s will states the property cannot be sold and must be used for camping by Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. The board is extremely grateful to Mr. Martin for this most generous gift. We are looking forward to working with the Girl Scouts on this project and believe that the gift will impact thousands of lives with even better Scouting programs.