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Camp Pico Blanco is a Boy Scout camp of about (originally ) on the coast of Central California. It is operated by the Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council, a new council formed as a result of a merger between the former Santa Clara County Council and the Monterey Bay Area Council in December 2012. The camp is surrounded by the Los Padres National Forest and the Ventana Wilderness and is located astride the pristine Little Sur River. The land was donated to the Boy Scouts by William Randolph Hearst in 1948 and the camp was opened in 1955. The camp vicinity is an ecologically diverse and sensitive environment containing a number of unique animal and plant species. It is located at elevation on the North Fork of the Little Sur River south of Carmel, California. Historically, the camp area was visited regularly by the Esselen American Indians, whose food sources included acorns gathered from the Black Oak, Canyon Live Oak and Tanbark Oak in the vicinity of the camp. The camp has been repeatedly threatened by fire, including the Marble Cone Fire of 1977 and the Basin Complex fire in 2008, which were successfully kept at bay by fire fighters. Both fires burned entirely around the camp. The Basin complex fire destroyed the outlying ranger's residence, the camp's climbing wall, portions of the water system, and the COPE course. The council was forced to divert Scouts to another location for that summer. Prior council leadership struggled to adhere to government regulations affecting rare and endangered species. In 2002 the camp was impacted by a change in state regulations governing seasonal dams on California rivers that affected threatened steelhead that frequent the river running through the camp. An inspector found fault with how the council filled the dam and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration threatened to fine them up to $396,000. The council responded by installing a $1 million fish ladder and other modifications that satisfied the regulators and allowed the council to continue to use the dam in following years.〔 Expenses related to the fish ladder and the new Hayward Lodge dining hall significantly contributed to the Monterey Bay Area Council's debt, leading to the dissolution of the council and its merger with the Santa Clara Council in December 2012. The new council leadership began a collaborative process with environmental and regulatory agencies to safeguard the camp environment. It published a vision for the camp that seeks to "appreciate, learn, and practice how we coexist with the beauty of nature around us." In 2013, after the merger was complete, the new leadership invited inspections by public and private organizations. They received high ratings for the improvements they had made to the camp. About 50% of the known population of the rare Dudley’s lousewort is located within the camp's boundaries which led to some friction between the former council and environmentalists. == Activities == The dominant features of the camp are the old growth Coastal Redwoods and the North Fork of the Little Sur River. Camp activities include aquatics, shooting sports at three ranges (archery, rifle, and shotgun shooting), handicraft, nature study, and Scoutcraft skills (including a Skills Patrol area). The camp offers an ''Adventure Day'' each Wednesday during camp season which gives Scouts access to a number of activities both in camp and out of camp. In 2007 the camp launched an older Scout program called Pico Pathfinders. The program consists of hiking, outdoor skills learning, shotgun shooting, knife/tomahawk throwing, and craft making. In 2013, the council hired Abraham Wolfinger as a full-time "naturalist in residence" for the summer season, the first such position created for any Boy Scout camp in the United States. They also adopted a new national program called "Science-Technology-Engineering-Math" that will include topics like Conservation, Earth Science, Fish and Fishing, and Wildlife.〔 Pico Blanco camp was the home of the Order of the Arrow Lodge Esselen 531 until the councils were merged. The camp also hosts the Council's one-week-long National Youth Leadership Training program each summer. During the first season of camp in 1954, the council offered seven six-day camp sessions from June 20 to August 7. Camp fees were $2.50 per camper (or about $ in today's dollars) if the troop prepared its own meals, and $14.50 (or about $ in today's dollars) if the troop ate at the central kitchen. In 2009, the council offered three sessions for $315.00 per Scout. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Camp Pico Blanco」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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