Facility Master Plans
"If you don't know where you are going, you'll probably end up somewhere else." - Lawrence Peter
These plans were drawn up in late 2019 by a team of volunteers, professionals, and camp architects to help guide and support the future of the properties of the Boy Scouts of America here in Southeast New Mexico. We feel that it is paramount for all of us to care for and upgrade these facilities so that our youth and the youth of the future may continue to enjoy them. The goal of these plans is to remove pain points for new and existing members, find additional year-round uses for the properties, and to create facilities that people will be proud to have as part of their community.
WEHINAHPAY MOUNTAIN CAMP
For many years, Wehinahpay has encapsulated the type of high-mountain camping that most people think of when they think of Scouting. It has a rich history and continues to be a destination for Scouts from within the state and from surrounding states.
As part of this plan, we will break camp up into 3 sections. The first section, which goes from the Gate to the Lake Lodge will be our Year Round Activity Area. The second zone goes from the Lake Lodge to the Dining Hall and will be operational during the Spring, Summer, and Fall. The last zone starts behind the Dining Hall and goes West until the property line. This will be used for the Summer program only.
![413A Camp Wehinahpay (1-21-20)[796].png](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/62d37e_e9d0f9a796da41f08fed8dd1ed460840~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_68,h_52,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/413A%20Camp%20Wehinahpay%20(1-21-20)%5B796%5D.png)
Zone A- Year Round
The Year-Round Area, Zone A, will be the main place that units will use when visiting Wehinahpay during non-summer months. This will involve a renovation of the gateway, replacing the Ranger's Residence, renovating the Family Center, replacing the Family Cabins with larger capacity housing, moving the Maintenance Center behind the Ranger residence, building campsites for year-round camping (as well as an access road to them), building the Arrowhead lodge where the Maintenance Center is for hunters and high-end conferences, fixing some lake issues, and replacing the lake lodge with a recreation of the building that once stood where the yurt now sits.
Zone B- Spring, Fall
The next section will be used for summer camp, as well as larger activities during the Spring and Fall. We will be moving all summer camp campsites to this zone from the area behind the dining hall. To facilitate this, we will need to establish several new campsites. Part of the plan is also the construction of two bathroom/shower facilities on either end of the campsite area. As the nature area will be moving to a different area of camp, the Eco Lodge will be made into a campsite. Renovations on the Tech Center will create more classroom areas for Eagle merit badges and Handicraft and will create a new entrance. The Maddox will be renovated into teaching areas and it's functions will be moved to the new Dining Hall/Admin Building. This new building will have an expanded dining hall, a leaders lounge, medic quarters, and administration. We will move the campfire bowl to sit on the edge of the hill next to the dining hall for a better view. In addition to this, we will be moving our low COPE elements from the program valley to be next to the Adventure Park. Construction will also be done to help manage our stormwater and to control road erosion.
Zone C- Summer Program
This last zone we like to call "Program Valley". One of the main complaints we have received from campers over the years is the amount of walking a Scout needs to do on a regular basis. To counter this, most of our program activities will be held in this area. We will be moving Nature and Scoutcraft to where the current West side campsites are. The Yurt will be moved into this area. Further down the valley, we will construct a new mountain man area. The shooting sports facilities will replaced and moved further apart to create a better program. We will also be building a corral for horses and a structure for ATVs in this valley.
CAMP JIM MURRAY
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Situated right on the edge of Hobbs, Camp Jim Murray is a great place to go to attend activities like Day Camp. It is close enough to town to make it convenient for new Scout families but far enough out to feel like an adventure.
This plan focuses on solving some of the biggest problems that new families may have. We believe that it is important for us to make this property a place that all Scouting families will be glad to call a home away from home.
Activity Center
One of the biggest changes to the property will be the addition of a new Activity Center building. This new building will replace the current metal building and will be large enough to hold a variety of activities for groups of Scouts. Having additional indoor teaching areas will help to give the Scouts a balance between being in outdoors and staying out of the heat of the day. It will be large enough so that we can have multiple activities being hosted indoors at the same time. As you can see on the drawing below, we also plan to have a climbing wall as part of this building design. It will also have a first aid station, new restrooms, and a kitchen.
Other Changes
In addition to upgrading our current building, we will be making several other camp improvements. As you can see on the map, we will be creating a road that goes around most of camp. This will allow parents to drop their Scouts off at activities like Day Camp without having a traffic jam. We will also be moving and upgrading the parking lot to accommodate the large numbers of Scouters that we project will be visiting the property. The sign and gateway will get an upgrade. The white trailer will be moved to sit next to the parking lot so that it will be more easily accessed by visitors.
Grass will be planted the in the area we have labelled as an activity field and a sprinkler system will be installed to keep it green. This will be an all-purpose area where Scouters can play games, camp, and experience life in the outdoors. We are awaiting an updated drawing from our architect which will accurately reflect the NEET Trail. Further please note that the drawing reflects the movement of our existing Metal Building to be our Maintenance Center and the Trailer moved to the Office Building by the Serenity Garden.
DOWLING AQUATIC BASE
Located in the heart of Carlsbad, Dowling Aquatics Base is a wonderful property with lots of potential. Situated on the banks of the Pecos River, sunsets at Dowling are always something to behold.
This plan will bring more year-round use to this wonderful property. Because of the National Park, thousands of people travel to Carlsbad every year. In addition to that, there are a ton of amazing things to see near this great city. Because of this, we will transform Dowling to accommodate these potential customers. Dowling Aquatics Base is an amazing location and we want to work to keep it full year round!
Family Camping Model
In order to get more use out of camp properties, the National Council is putting together a network of camps for family camping use. These camps will be on a centralized registration system and will be marketed around the country. As Philmont has done, the camps in this system will be adding options for nicer camping accommodations, which can help bring in new families who don't feel confident camping on their own.
As you can see on the map above, this would involve adding several new features to our camping area. This would include 4 cabins, a small RV camping area, and Philmont-style family camping tents. These tents are midway between regular tent camping and cabins. They will have heavy fabric walls but will have beds and bathrooms. Reservations to these facilities would be open to both our Scouters and Scouters that are travelling through.
The Ranger, who would live on site, would act as concierge, and travel guide, and would facilitate programs for everyone spending time at camp.
Other Changes
Parking will be expanded to fit up to the larger amount of people in the camp, the existing building will be remodeled to better facilitate program needs, and a new campfire bowl and flag plaza will be built. As you may notice, boat storage an maintenance will be kept in it's current area. A fence with tree barriers will keep it out of view from our Scouts.
Our plan is to continue putting on events at this property as we always have. When activities like Day Camp occur, we will shut down reservations of tents or cabins so that we don't need to worry about outside people coming into our events.
We believe that the most part of this plan is that it expands what this property can to do help Scouts rather than replaces it. We will still be able to offer the same great programs and will be bringing in more revenue that we can use to help the Scouts of the Conquistador Council.
