BlogJamboree subcamps renamed in honor of the National Park Service centennial

August 25, 2016 is the one hundredth anniversary of America’s National Park Service. Just two months after he signed the congressional charter for the Boy Scouts of America, President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Park Service Organic Act, formally establishing the National Park Service. Since then, that organization has functioned as the ward of the nation’s most valuable natural treasures.

Think the Summit is big? The National Park Service oversees more than 84 million acres of land in all fifty states and five territories. The service’s charter is to preserve the ecological and historical integrity of the places entrusted to its management, while simultaneously making them accessible and available to the public. Mission accomplished: in 2015, alone, they hosted over 305 million visitors!

The Summit Bechtel Reserve has the unique benefit of being adjacent to one of the most beautiful for the National Park Service’s 412 units: the New River Gorge National River. Visitors to the Summit are able to make use of the national treasure, and the have repaid the country for its use through some incredible service projects, such as the Order of the Arrow’s Summit Corps.

Of the 412 units of the National Park Service, 59 are specifically designated as national parks. These protected areas are specifically established by an act of Congress. Yellowstone, the first national park, was signed into law by Ulysses S. Grant in 1872 – an act that even predates the current National Park Service!

To celebrate the momentous anniversary of the National Park Service, and to honor the heritage of conservation, natural wonder, and outdoor adventure they share with the Boy Scouts of America, each 2017 National Scout Jamboree subcamp has been renamed in honor of a national park. Each camp has a handsome patch designed to commemorate this occasion – the full set is sure to be a major collector’s item at the Jamboree!

Here’s the full list of subcamps, and their names – see below for images of all the subcamp patches!

A1	Acadia	B1	Isle Royale
A2	Badlands	B2	Crater Lake
A3	Ranier	B3	Carlsbad
A4	Congaree	B4	Shenandoah
C1	Denali	D1	Guadalupe
C2	Mammoth Cave	D2	Glacier
C3	Big Bend	D3	Zion
C4	Everglades	D4	Haleakala
E1	Great Smoky Mountains	F1	Death Valley
E2	Grand Canyon	F2	Katmai
E3	Yosemite	F3	Mesa Verde
E4	Yellowstone	F4	Olympic