New Scout Troop Works Toward A Goal

A new local scout troop completed a work project earlier this month that, not only raised needed troop funds, but also contributed to the cause of water conservation in the area. The eighteen scouts and two leaders of newly formed community Troop 947 spent about four hours per day for two days clearing tamarisk plants along the banks of the Virgin River.

The project was organized by Elise McAllister of Partners in Conservation (PIC). The scouts volunteered their labor on the tamarisk removal project and PIC then made a donation of funds to the scout troop.

McAllister told Mortensen that there were no more tortoise fencing projects to be done, but that PIC had recently received grant funding for tamarisk removal on the Virgin. “We were glad to take it,” Mortensen said.

While Mortensen reported that it was a bit easier than tortoise fencing, tamarisk removal was still no walk in the park. The project required an environmentally sensitive approach. No heavy equipment could be used that might disrupt the native river habitat. “We couldn’t cut them down and we couldn’t use any kind of chemicals on them,” Mortensen said. “We had to pull them all out by hand the old fashioned way.”

During the late afternoon of July 9 and 11, the troop cleared about two acres of the river, removing an estimated 5500 tamarisk plants. “It was tough work during a hot part of the day,” Mortensen said. “It was about 110 degrees in the late afternoon when we were working, and we all ended up with tired and bloody hands.”

The newly formed troop 947 is a contingency council troop, meaning it is formed solely for gathering scouts to participate in a specific activity. In this case, the troop is planning to attend the BSA National Jamboree in Virginia next summer.

The trip will take 18 days in all. The group will fly to Washington D.C. and spend about a week seeing historical sites in the nation’s capital; as well as in Philadelphia and Boston. The troop will then attend the National Jamboree for 10 days. The Jamboree will bring together more than 45,000 scouts from all over the United States.

Attending the Jamboree is a significant experience in the life of a young scout. “I remember attending the National Jamboree back when I was a boy,” said Mortensen. “It is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We are all looking forward to it next year.”

But first, significant funds must be raised by the troop. The trip will cost about $3800 per boy including travel, accomodations, equipment and all of the troop’s activities. “Our main focus right now is on raising funds,” Mortensen said. “We have a lot of fundraisers planned between now and next spring.”

Fundraising activities that are already scheduled include selling concessions at events in Las Vegas, cleaning up trash at Las Vegas Raceway events, selling snow cones in local store parking lots, directing traffic at the Clark County Fair and several other community service projects.

The troop is not affiliated with any religious organization. Boy Scouts from any permanent troop in the Moapa or Virgin Valleys can join Troop 947 and prepare to attend the National Jamboree.

Currently the troop has 18 members. But a total of 36 members are needed by mid August in order to continue as an independent troop. “We need to recruit another 18 boys from this community by that time, otherwise we will have to be attached on to another existing troop from Las Vegas,” Mortensen said. “I’d really like to see a whole troop of boys from Moapa and Virgin Valleys be able to go on this trip together.”

For more information about joining Troop 947 local scouts or their parents can call Hal Mortensen at 378-8234. Contributions from members of the community to help in the fundraising efforts are also encouraged by calling the same number.