Since my last project idea did not turn out (a wetlands improvement idea) due to some indifferent people, I need a new idea. I would really like to do my project in the mountains, because I love spending time in them.

I need some ideas. I turn 17 in two weeks, so I only have a year to finish this. Any ideas or advice from a previous Eagle Scout? I want to do something that makes a difference, I'm not just interested in getting it done and not caring how or why. I do have a limited ability, though, and a very limited timeframe, so it would have to be achievable for myself and maybe 5-10 others in a couple of long days.

I live in Washington, by the way.

Thanks,
Mark

Liberty Ridge on Rainier in Jan. sounds like a good project!


Sorry, I was never a scout and can't help much. Good luck though, my pops is an Eagle, and I know its no small deal.

Mark,

Trail work is a great project. Do a mile or so of improvements, build some drains, perhaps a bridge. Most councils require some permanent installation of some kind. I've been on many of these. For many years you'll return to the trail and know you had a hand in putting it there.

Check with your district or council advancement chairman. They can hook you up with the local USFS trail boss.

Other good projects are improving and repairing back country campsites. The kind you have to hike in to.

Remember you are just doing a project to demonstrate your leadership skills. You don't have to save the world. That can come later on.

Well done on your achievement. Get your Eagle now so you can enjoy it before you turn 18. My Scouts always wait until the last minute.

--Scoutmaster Spider Savage

Hey Mark,

It's not outdoorsy, but how about a blood drive? You can drum up support with your troop and local organizations, have people sign up beforehand, etc. This is a tough time of year for blood banks, so you'd definitely be helping save some lives. Good Luck!

Hey Mark,

It's not outdoorsy, but how about a blood drive? You can drum up support with your troop and local organizations, have people sign up beforehand, etc. This is a tough time of year for blood banks, so you'd definitely be helping save some lives. Good Luck!

Do something like replace trail signs, make signs for summits or build bridges in the mountains. Those are always in need and make a good project.

Mark--You might try contacting the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. One of the assistant scoutmasters in my troop (Troop 275 of Choctaw) is in the Oklahoma equivalent, and he's the first person I refer a young man to who wants something in the outdoors. They have property all over the state, and always have work that needs doing--erecting birdhouses, constructing trails, etc. We're a large troop, and make about 6-10 new Eagles each year.

Your department's website is here, with contact info ...

Washington Dept of Fish and Wildlife Website

Good luck whatever you decide, it's well-worth the effort!

bgriffs wrote:Hey Mark,

It's not outdoorsy, but how about a blood drive? ...

Interestingly, some councils don't allow blood drives. I know that mine, Last Frontier Council, does not. I know that others do. I think that it depends on how much the candidate must do. In LFC, the candidate just identifies a location and date/time and places a phone call to coordinate the BloodMobile, and after that they take over. So they are no longer allowed as an Eagle Project, but are okay for troop projects. --mark d.

Hey mark,

Im working on mine, and i don't really have to many trails within my district, other then city trails. There is a new park that has a few trails and such, so im making a trailhead kiosk. Remember, the project, along with helping in some way is really called an eagle scout LEADERSHIP service project for a reason.

-Jace

Mark, my council has banned "landscaping" projects. So if you're gonna do conservation or planting (trees, plants, etc) double check that it is indeed conservation and not landscaping. You could repair/replace summit markers and registers. Cut, paint, paint and install new signs and put in some more permanent registers (see DMT's Wilderness Cooler TR's).

If you just want to get the badge and be done, there are lots of options. However, if you want to earn it and be able to say "I am an Eagle" with pride, you're gonna have to do some serious work, most of it outside the mountains. If you're searching for ideas, think back to some previous trips you've done. Each time you thought "Man, I wish someone had done *blank*, that would have made this so much better." is a potential project. PM me if you need more help.

The King County Parks department does a fantastic job maintaining the wonderful Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland park, but I know they always welcome volunteers. Perhaps you could contact them about replacing one of the many rotting footlogs with a new bridge or other project.

As many have said contact your local Forest Service, fish and game or other land manager offices and see what kind of work they may have laying around that a volunteer could do. Check with the recreation or biologist types directly. All have more on their wish list of projects than they have funding or work force to address. I suspect you will have many options to choose from if you make a lot of contacts.

I know a kid who just completed a blood drive for his Eagle project. It works and is a worthy cause, but I would think there are much more appropriate things for a scout who has access to the outdoors to do.

Urban trails can be as important to society as wilderness trails and can be used as an introduction to hiking skills. A number of scouts in our troop have taken on the refurbishment of bridges on the Trinity Trails, the Fort Worth hike and bike trail system. The work included removing and replacing wood deck and wood railing, sanding and painting metal strcture and rail and refinishing and sealing wood bridge deck.

Another scout refinished a number of benches (almost 100) along the trail. In accessible areas benches can be a great asset to older or less mobile folks.

Good luck with your project.

-James Duke
-Scoutmaster
-Troop 17

There are good reasons to perform trail maintenance or trail-building on city, state or county lands, rather than on federal lands. Do a google search on

NEPA "trail maintenance"

If you do want to build a trail on federal land, maybe you can find an organization that has already done the NEPA permitting, or a district that is willing to soft-pedal the regs. Since Eagle Scout projects often get mentioned in the newspapers, it is hard to avoid notice by the gubmint.

Yes, if you want to make a new trail or do anything that requires the much earth movement you will hit a NEPA snag. But as far as trail maintenance or minor improvements/fixes most programs will have existing programatic NEPA in place so there would should be no problem. However, this can vary from office to office. In any case, the person on the ground wouldn't need to be concerned with getting the NEPA done themselves. As you go around and talk to resource professionals about potential ideas, be sure to ask if any of the potential work you might do would have any NEPA needs. If so there would likely be a timeline involved that would not be compatible with yours.

A NEPA nerd