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.
Cimarron is a village in 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 census, making it the fourth most populous municipality in Colfax County.
Philmont Scout Ranch is a ranch located in Colfax County, New Mexico, near the village of Cimarron; it covers 140,177 acres (56,728 ha) of wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains on the east side of the Cimarron Range of the Rocky Mountains. Donated by oil baron Waite Phillips, the ranch is owned and operated by the Boy Scouts of America. It is a National High Adventure Base where crews of Scouts and Venturers take part in backpacking treks and other outdoor activities. By land area, it is one of the largest youth camps in the world. During the 2019 season, between June 8 and August 22, an estimated 24,000 Scouts and adult leaders backpacked through the Ranch's extensive backcountry. That same year 1,302 staff were responsible for the Ranch's summer operations.
Waite Phillips was an American petroleum businessman who created a fully integrated operation that combined petroleum producing, refining and marketing. With headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he also developed several office complexes and engaged in banking and ranching. Phillips was a philanthropist for both local Tulsa institutions and national causes. In Tulsa he built a 72-room mansion for his residence, which he later donated to the city; it became the Philbrook Museum of Art. He gave 127,000 acres (510 km2) of his favorite ranch in New Mexico to the Boy Scouts of America, together with an office building as part of its endowment. The ranch is now Philmont Scout Ranch, one of the largest youth camps in the world. Phillips also made a substantial bequest to the University of Southern California, which named a building after him.
The Villa Philmonte is a large ranch home located outside of Cimarron, New Mexico, on Philmont Scout Ranch, owned by the Boy Scouts of America. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995 as part of Villa Philmonte Historic District, which included two contributing buildings, two contributing structures, and two contributing sites. Those resources are the Villa Philmonte, an associated guesthouse, two courtyards, and a pool, pergola and pond.
National Youth Leadership Training, often called NYLT, is the current youth leadership development training offered by the Boy Scouts of America. The program is conducted at the council level over six days for Scouts, Venturers, and Sea Scouts. The program has been open to all genders since 2010. This training is a part of the national organization's leadership training program and is designed to mirror themes found in Woodbadge, which is the BSA program for adult leadership training.
Kodiak is the second level leadership development course for Venturers in the Boy Scouts of America's Venturing program.
William Hillcourt, known within the Scouting movement as "Green Bar Bill", was an influential leader in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) organization from 1927 to 1992. Hillcourt was a prolific writer and teacher in the areas of woodcraft, troop and patrol structure, and training; his written works include three editions of the BSA's official Boy Scout Handbook, with over 12.6 million copies printed, other Scouting-related books and numerous magazine articles. Hillcourt developed and promoted the American adaptation of the Wood Badge adult Scout leader training program.
The Wilderness Grace, also known as the "Worth Ranch Grace" and the "Philmont Grace", is the common name of a simple prayer recited before meals by many boy and girl members of the Boy Scouts of America. The original version, the "Worth Ranch Grace", was written in 1929 by A. J. "Jerry" Fulkerson, Camp Director at Worth Ranch Scout Camp in Palo Pinto County, Texas, part of the Longhorn Council in the Fort Worth Area. Fulkerson was also the Scout executive of the Fort Worth Area Council, Boy Scouts of America.
The National Scouting Museum is the official museum of the Boy Scouts of America.
The National Youth Leadership Training Leadership Academy is a program of the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America that trains youth staff members for council level National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT) courses. The course, formerly named the Northeast Region Youth Staff Development Course (YSDC) while located in New Jersey, has moved to its new home in Haymarket, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. at the National Capitol Area Council Camp William B. Snyder. The course is currently offered two times each summer. The course is only available to those who staff or will staff a National Youth Leadership Training course in their home council.
Rayado was the first permanent settlement in Colfax County, New Mexico, United States and an important stop on the Santa Fe Trail. The name Rayado derives from the Spanish term for "streaked", perhaps in reference to the lot lines marked out by Lucien Maxwell.
Wood Badge in the United States is an advanced level leadership training available to adult Scout leaders. The first Wood Badge course was presented in England by the founder of Scouting, Baden-Powell, and he introduced the program into the United States during a visit in 1936. The first course was held at the Mortimer L. Schiff Scout Reservation, but Americans did not fully adopt Wood Badge until 1948. The National BSA Council staff provided direct leadership to the program through 1958, when the increased demand encouraged them to permit local councils to deliver the training.
National Advanced Youth Leadership Experience (NAYLE) is a training program of Boy Scouts of America. The format is a week-long, leadership development experience, providing young men and women aged 14 through 20 the environment to enhance their leadership skills.
The Utah National Parks Council (UNPC) is a former local council of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) that served youth in areas of Utah who live south of Salt Lake County and in some isolated areas of Nevada and Arizona. It was headquartered in Orem. As of December 31, 2013, UNPC was the largest of 272 local councils and is geographically within the Western Region of BSA. In 2011, the UNPC was recognized by the Utah Best of State Foundation as Utah's Best Humanitarian Organization. UNPC is a non-profit corporation governed by Scouting policies and a local community-based Executive Board. In April 2020, it combined with the former Great Salt Lake and Trapper Trails councils to create the new Crossroads of the West Council.
High Adventure Bases of the Boy Scouts of America are outdoor recreation facilities located in several locales in North America operated by the Boy Scouts of America at the organization's national level. Each facility offers wilderness programs and training that could include wilderness canoeing, wilderness backpacking trips, or sailing, and provide opportunities for Scouts to earn the 50-Miler Award. These bases are administered by the High Adventure Division of the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
Leadership training in the Boy Scouts of America includes training on how to administer the Scouting program, outdoor skills training for adults and youth, and leadership development courses for adults and youth. Some of these courses like Youth Protection Training are mandatory. Most of the courses are offered by the local council, while a few are hosted at the national level, currently at Philmont Training Center in New Mexico. They are available to members of all of the Boy Scout programs, including Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Explorer Posts, and Venturing Crews.
The Philmont Leadership Challenge is a seven-day adult leadership training program of the Boy Scouts of America. It is intended for adults who have completed Wood Badge and is held once or twice each year in the back country of the Philmont Scout Ranch.
Chase Ranch Cimarron, New Mexico was founded in 1867 by Manly and Theresa Chase. As pioneers, from Wisconsin by way of Colorado, they crossed the Raton Pass in a covered wagon and establish a new home in New Mexico. Manly Chase purchased the land from Lucien Maxwell, part of the Maxwell Land Grant. The ranch is near the Ponil Creek, a mile north of the Cimarron River, not far from the Santa Fe Trail. The Ranch included the old Kit Carson homestead. Before the arrival of pioneers, the land was populated by Apaches and Ute people. Manly provided the local Native Americans with beef, creating peaceful coexistence.
In the Boy Scouts of America, a Scout leader refers to the trained leaders of a Scout unit. Adult leaders are generally referred to as "Scouters," and the youth leaders are referred to by their position within a unit. In all Scouting units above the Cub Scout pack and units serving adolescent Scouts, leadership of the unit comprises both adult leaders (Scouters) and youth leaders (Scouts). This is a key part of the Aims and Methods of Scouting. In order to learn leadership, the youth must actually serve in leadership roles.
