Fish and Wildlife Management

[dupk333]

As the chairman of the lake committee for our community, I enlisted the help of our local Boy Scout Troop to assist in a project which I think falls under the catagory of Fish and Wildlife Management...Each year the scouts collect Christmas trees and bring them to the recycle center...This year I asked them to set aside 10 trees and help me to build an artificial reef in our lake...We tied cinder blocks to each tree and sunk them in an area of the lake which will create habitat for smaller fish and help stablize the existing fish population...not to mention creating structure which attracts larger fish and will provide a fun place for everyone to fish. I also had them make two bouys which marked the reef and indicated that it was a fishing spot.
My question concerns the requirements for the Fish and Wildlife Management Merit Badge...Based on the web site, I don't see any projects under this catagory that would allow the scouts to get credit for the work that they have done...The Troop Leader has asked me to fill out a Merit Badge Counselor Information Sheet and check off which activities the scouts accomplished. How do I go about ensuring that the scouts get credit for their merit badges?

Thank you...Darryl

[mrsrayzor]

You are correct in that the work you described does not meet any of the requirements for this merit badge. When working on a merit badge each requirement should be completed as listed in the merit badge book, no more no less. This just means that these particular scouts will not get anything signed off for this badge, but this is definitely community service and they should be given credit for the time they put into it. Community service & service projects are advancement requirements for ranks and such.

In our Troop we would ask you to write down the names of the boys who participated, describe the project and tell how long each scout spent working on it.

Hope this helps!

DRay
Committee Chair

[riverwalk]

Yeah, these are great ideas. But since it may not fit a specific MB requirement.......what about the conservation angle? I know little about the Hornaday Award program, other than it's very involved. But perhaps these type activities would fall under "the canopy" somewhere?? It's about recycling, protecting the environment, wildlife habitat development and so on. Gee, even if an official BSA recognition won't cover it....make a big deal of it locally anyway. They can certainly be recognized within District/Council somehow. And they've already learned from it too. Hmm, perhaps a local fishing group will thank them...and even offer some skilled instruction to Official requirements in the future? Everybody wins.

[ICanCanoeCanU]

I'm surprised that a conservation project isn't needed for the "World Conservation Award" but unlike Cubscouts that need a project, no project is required for this award on the Boy Scout side.

But it would count for Community Service!

[Lynda J]

What about community service hours for Star and Life. Most other ranks require service hours.

[RWSmith]

Am I missing something here?....

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE:
3. Do ONE activity in EACH of the following categories (using the activities in this pamphlet as the basis for planning and carrying out your projects):
a. Egology
1. Conduct an experiment to find out how living things respond to changes in their environments. Discuss your observations with your counselor.

FORESTRY:
7. Do ONE of the following:
a. Assist in carrying out a project that meets one or more of these objectives: timber stand improvement, watershed improvement, wildlife habitat improvement, recreation area improvement, or range improvement.

SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION:
7. Do TWO of the following:
f. Carry out any other soil and water conservation project approved in advance.

[mrsrayzor]

All great ideas and suggestions. Need to make sure the scouts were signed up for these badges when the work was done!

DRay
Committee Chair

[Lynda J]

This brings up a queston. If a scout works on a project before he gets the blue card can that project be counted for a requirement?.

[RWSmith]

Need to make sure the scouts were signed up for these badges when the work was done!

If a scout works on a project before he gets the blue card can that project be counted for a requirement?

There is no rule that says a Scout must first "sign up" for a particular MB prior to passing a given MB requirement. Only a handful of MB requirements specify that "prior approval" is necessary. And, unless otherwise stated, the prior approving authority is usually the MBC...

PETS:
1. "Present evidence that you have cared for a pet for four months. Get approval before you start." In this case, an individual Scout needs to obtain approval from the MBC before starting the requirement.

CAMPING:
9. Show experience in camping by doing the following:
a. "Camp a total of at least 20 days and nights. You may use a week of long-term camp toward this requirement." This example clearly shows that a Scout does not have to get a signed Blue Card prior to meeting the requirement.

SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION:
7.f. "Carry out any other soil and water conservation project approved in advance." Although the MBC is the approval authority, considering the fact that Darryl specifically made the Lake project (referenced in the first post) an organized learning activity, if I were the MBC, and a kid presented me evidence (a written note from Darryl) about that project, I'd count it without hesitation.

IMHO, unless specifically required otherwise, as long as the Scout can provide the MBC with satisfactory evidence that the requirement was completed anytime after the date he joined the BSA, the MBC is obligated to accept it.

[Rick Tyler]

IMHO, unless specifically required otherwise, as long as the Scout can provide the MBC with satisfactory evidence that the requirement was completed anytime after the date he joined the BSA, the MBC is obligated to accept it.

This is a nitpick, but it is more accurate to say, "Unless specifically required otherwise, it is up to the MBC to determine if the scouth has satisfactorily completed a requirement." Other than to require that MBCs not add, change, or delete requirements, the instructions from BSA to MBCs do not specify how this determination is to be made.

As an example, I could see cases where Requirement 9 of CitWorld could be fulfilled before ever joining Boy Scouts, which would fall just outside RW's statement above.

[RWSmith]

Rick,

I see your point; but, here's the bottom line: "Any registered Scout, regardless of rank, may work on any merit badge and receive the award when he earns it." In this statement, we find the only restrictions as to who may (or by omission, may not) receive credit from a MBC regarding any MB requirement(s), whether he has a Blue Card, or not... The way I read it, regardless of age, rank, or maturity, a registered Scout (but, only while a registered Scout) may "work on" (that is, complete a MB requirement and retain evidence thereof, whether he has obtained a signed Blue Card from his SM, or not) or "earn" (that is, a MBC signs a Blue Card indicating a Scout has completed the necessary requirements for a given MB, prior to his 18th birthday) any number of Merit Badges he so chooses.

Now, with that being said, if a brand-new, 12-year-old Scout, working on C.I.T. World, came up to me and showed me his report card from last year showing where had taken (and passed) such-and-such foreign language, but before he became a Scout, and was continuing same in the current year, I'd sign off Req. 9.d... because rules 1 and 2 always come first... which are safety and common sense, respectively. So, although the MBC has the right to limit a Boy Scout's evidence for any MB requirement back as far as the date he became a registered Scout, common sense, IMHO, is still oftentimes applicable w/o violating the "no-more,-no-less" mantra.

What do you think?

[mrsrayzor]

This is just a duh! on my part, but I did not know that a scout could use work done before the start of a blue card! I've been in the Troop for almost 4 years and we've always worked under the premise that a blue card had to be started before any work on a merit badge could begin. We always started a boy on Camping as soon as he joined the troop so he could get credit for all camping nights! This is so scary to me because it really makes me wonder what other rules we've had passed down that aren't necessarity BSA sanctioned.

DRay
Committee Chair

[Rick Tyler]

Now, with that being said, if a brand-new, 12-year-old Scout, working on C.I.T. World, came up to me and showed me his report card from last year showing where had taken (and passed) such-and-such foreign language, but before he became a Scout, and was continuing same in the current year, I'd sign off Req. 9.d... because rules 1 and 2 always come first... which are safety and common sense, respectively. So, although the MBC has the right to limit a Boy Scout's evidence for any MB requirement back as far as the date he became a registered Scout, common sense, IMHO, is still oftentimes applicable w/o violating the "no-more,-no-less" mantra.

What do you think?

As long as we don't violate any of the rules and regulations, which I believe our Scout Oath requires us to take seriously, common sense and maturity should be applied liberally. It's a growth-and-fun program for boys, not the Supreme Court. I'm with you.

[Rick Tyler]

This is just a duh! on my part, but I did not know that a scout could use work done before the start of a blue card! I've been in the Troop for almost 4 years and we've always worked under the premise that a blue card had to be started before any work on a merit badge could begin. We always started a boy on Camping as soon as he joined the troop so he could get credit for all camping nights! This is so scary to me because it really makes me wonder what other rules we've had passed down that aren't necessarity BSA sanctioned.

I've been to all the training. I've been to Wood Badge. Even though I'm not a commissioner, I've been through commissioner training. I've helped teach Scoutmaster training a couple of times. I talk to experienced leaders, and have a couple of Scouting mentors I listen to carefully. I try to listen more than I talk. I've been at this for about five years.

At least once every couple of months I find something that I believed about Scouting is either wrong, or there is a much better way that someone else has come up with.

If you read this list (or one of the other Scout discussion groups) regularly you will find lots of things to be humble about. Welcome!