| Scouting in Arizona | |||
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.jpg) Camp Lawton | |||
 Popcorn stand run by Girl Scouts at the New Year's Fair inPoston, Arizona | |||
 Scouting portal | |||
Scouting in Arizona has a history starting from the 1910s to the present day, serving youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.
Boy Scouting was founded byRobert Baden-Powell in England and co-founded by the American Scout MajorFrederick Russell Burnham.[1] Boy Scouting was brought to the United States byWilliam D. Boyce. He incorporated the Boy Scouts of America on February 8, 1910. The Boy Scouts of America was chartered by Congress on June 15, 1916. This is the same year as the first Boy Scout Council in Arizona was formed with thePrescott Council.[2] Burnham served as the Honorary President of the Arizona Boy Scouts throughout the 1940s until his death in 1947.[1]
The first two Boy Scout troops in Arizona Territory were organized inPrescott, in September 1910 and inTombstone at almost the same time.[3] In Prescott, E.P. Cole ofWhipple Barracks was the first Scoutmaster.[2] Arizona Territorial HistorianSharlot Hall was an honorary member of the Tombstone troop.[3] Scouting came toPhoenix in the fall 1910 with Clarence R. Craig as the Scoutmaster.[2] Other Scout troops were formed; inBisbee in early 1911.[3] and inSt. Joseph andSnowflake about the same time.[4]
Harold Steele, principal of the then new Tucson High School, organized the first Scout troop inTucson on April 20, 1911.[3]
On November 29, 1911The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) organized the MIA Scouts along the lines recommended by the Boy Scouts of America as part of their Mutual Improvement Association youth program.[5] In March 1912, the LDS Church published their first lessons for the MIA Scouts in theImprovement Era. On May 21, 1913, the LDS Church was invited by the Boy Scout National Council to become the first Chartered Sponsored Organization in their movement.[6] The Boy Scouts of America program was then adopted in all LDS Church congregations as part of their youth program. Each LDS Church congregation in Arizona organized a Scout troop.
In April 1921 the eight LDS troops in the Maricopa (LDS) Stake and the Methodist troop met in at the Coffee Cup inMesa to organize theApache Council.[7] This was the second council in Arizona. George A. Johnson was the first Council President. Edwin M. LeBaron was the first Field Commissioner.[8] Their first summer camp was held on Sycamore Creek nearPayson, Arizona.[9]
On September 16, 1921, the board of the Apache Council met with Scouters from Phoenix at the Tempe National Bank to reorganized into theRoosevelt Council, to be headquartered in Phoenix. Tim Murray from Galveston Texas, was the first professional Scout Executive.[10] The 1922 summer camp was at Pineair[11] (now call Reavis Ranch located in the Superstition Wilderness Area about 45 miles (72 km) east of Mesa).[12] The name, Camp Geronimo, is still used by the Grand Canyon Council camp although the location has changed several times. Throughout the 1940s,Frederick Russell Burnham served as the Honorary President of the Roosevelt Council Boy Scouts.
The Roosevelt Council changed its name to the Theodore Roosevelt Council. In 1993 the Theodore Roosevelt Council (located in Phoenix) and the Grand Canyon Council (located in Flagstaff) merged with the Phoenix council assuming the current name, the Grand Canyon Council. The Nassau County Council in New York was renamed to theTheodore Roosevelt Council in 1997.
In 1936, Boy Scouts in Arizona mounted a statewide campaign to save the Bighorn Sheep. The Scouts first became interested in the sheep through the efforts of MajorFrederick Russell Burnham. Burnham observed that fewer than 150 of these sheep still lived in the Arizona mountains. He calledGeorge F. Miller, then Scout Executive of thePhoenix Scout Council, with a plan to save the sheep. Burnham said,
I want you to save this majestic animal, not only because it is in danger of extinction, but of more importance, some day it might provide domestic sheep with a strain to save them from disaster at the hands of a yet unknown virus.[13]
Several other prominent Arizonans join the movement and asave the bighorns poster contest was started in schools throughout the state. Burnham provided prizes and appeared in store windows across Arizona. The contest-winning bighorn emblem was made up into neckerchief slides for the 10,000 Boy Scouts, and talks and dramatizations were given at school assemblies and on radio. TheNational Wildlife Federation, theIzaak Walton League, and theAudubon Society also joined the effort.[13]
These efforts led to the establishment of two bighorn game ranges in Arizona:Kofa National Wildlife Refuge andCabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge. On January 18, 1939, over 1,500,000 acres (6,100 km2) were set aside and a civilian conservation corp side camp was set up to develop high mountain waterholes for the sheep. TheDesert Bighorn Sheep is now the official mascot for Arizona Boy Scouts.[which?][13]
There are two Boy Scouts of America (BSA) local councils in Arizona, and other multi-state councils that serve portions of Arizona:
| Catalina Council (#011) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Catalina Council headquarters | |||
| Owner | Boy Scouts of America | ||
| Headquarters | Tucson, Arizona | ||
| Country | United States | ||
| President | Don Riegger, Jr. CPA[14] | ||
| Council Commissioner | Jonathan Lang[14] | ||
| Scout Executive | Dr. Shannon Roberts, PhD[14] | ||
| Website catalinacouncil.org | |||
| Scouting portal | |||
Catalina Council, BSA serves the southeastern portion of Arizona, fromAjo, Arizona to theUS-Mexico border in the south, and all the way east to theNew Mexico border. Catalina Council is headquartered inTucson, Arizona, has two Districts, and two camps.
In 1920, the Tucson Council (#011) was formed, changing its name to Catalina Council (#011) in 1922. TheCochise County Council (#008), founded in 1922, merged with the Catalina Council in 1963.[15]
The council is divided into districts which serve Scouting units directly.
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| Grand Canyon Council (#010) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner | Boy Scouts of America | ||
| Headquarters | Phoenix, Arizona | ||
| Country | United States | ||
| President | Lisa Graham Keegan (01/2019 – Current)[17] | ||
| Council Commissioner | Jacob R. Benyi (01/2020 – Current)[17] | ||
| Scout Executive | Andy Price (10/2018 – Current)[18] | ||
| Website grandcanyonbsa.org | |||
| Scouting portal | |||
TheGrand Canyon Council serves Scouts in Arizona andNew Mexico, offering Cub Scouts and Scouts BSA to boys and girls ages 5 through 18. Additionally ages 14 through 21 can be involved with Venturing, a high adventure outdoor program or inLearning for Life, a career-based program.[19]
In 1916, theGlobe Council was founded, ending in 1919. In 1925, theVerde Council (#0715) was founded. It merged into theYavapai-Mohave Council in 1927.
In 1921, thePhoenix Council (#010) was founded, changing its name to theMaricopa County Council (#010) in 1923. The Maricopa County council changed its name to theRoosevelt Council in 1924. In 1922, the Yavapai District was founded, changing its name to theYavapai & Mohave Counties Council (#012) in 1924. In 1926, Yavapai and Mohave Counties changed its name to Yavapai-Mohave Council (#012). In 1922, the Grand Canyon Council was founded. It merged into Yavapai-Mohave in 1929. The combined councils changed their names to theNorthern Arizona Council. In 1934, the council was disbanded and service was taken over byDirect Service.[15]
TheThree G Council (#009) was formed in 1943, changing its name to theCopper Council in 1962. In 1977, the Copper Council merged into the Theodore Roosevelt Council (#010). In 1993, the Theodore Roosevelt Council reformed into Grand Canyon Council (#010).[15] Note that this is unrelated toTheodore Roosevelt Council (#386), previously known as Nassau County Council, located in New York. That Council took their current name in 1997.
In 2017, Grand Canyon Council underwent a realignment, reducing the number of districts to six Community Districts.[20]Districts are:
Districts
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The Grand Canyon Council also has anOrder of the Arrow lodge, Wipala Wiki #432.[26]
TheHigh Deseret Council of theBoy Scouts of America is headquartered inAlbuquerque, New Mexico, and providesScouting to youth in various parts of New Mexico, Arizona and surrounding states.[citation needed]
FormerlyBoulder Dam Area Council,Las Vegas Area Council serves Scouts inNevada,California andMohave County,Arizona.
TheSan Diego-Imperial Council is headquartered inSan Diego, California, and serves youth members and volunteer leaders throughScout units in San Diego and Imperial counties of Southern California, as well as a portion of Arizona. Desert Pacific Council was renamed to San Diego-Imperial Council on January 3, 2005.[citation needed]
| Girl Scouting in Arizona | |||
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 Map of Girl Scout Councils in California | |||
| Scouting portal | |||
There are two Girl Scout councils in Arizona.
In Arizona, Girl Scouts was started in Prescott in 1916 by Maxine Dunning though the first troop in Arizona was not formally recognized until 1918 inAjo.[27] The Barbara Anderson Girl Scout Museum in Phoenix focuses on Girl Scout history, and in particular, Arizona Girl Scout history.[28]
| Girl Scouts–Arizona Cactus-Pine Council | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Headquarters | Phoenix, Arizona | ||
| Country | United States | ||
| Chief Executive Officer | Mary Mitchell and Christina Spicer | ||
| Website girlscoutsaz.org | |||
| Scouting portal | |||
Girl Scouts-Arizona Cactus-Pine Council serves over 25,000 girls in northern Arizona as well as in the Utah and New Mexico sections of theNavajo Nation and in a small part of California.[29]
| Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Tucson, Arizona | ||
| Country | United States | ||
| Chief Executive Officer | Debbie Rich | ||
| Website www.girlscoussoaz.org | |||
| Scouting portal | |||
Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona council serves more than 14,000 girls in Pima, Cochise, Greenlee, Yuma, and Santa Cruz counties and southern parts of Graham, Maricopa, and Pinal counties.[31] It was previously known as Sahuaro Girl Scout Council.
