Scouting in Wyoming has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.

Early history (1910–1950)

The

Cheyenne Council Scouting in Colorado has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day. Early history (1910–1950) Scouting got a brisk start in Colorado. The Denver Council was founded in 1915, and in 1926 changed its name to the Denver Area Council, whic ...

was founded in 1920, and in 1925 changed its name to the

Southeastern Wyoming Council Scouting in Colorado has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day. Early history (1910–1950) Scouting got a brisk start in Colorado. The Denver Council was founded in 1915, and in 1926 changed its name to the Denver Area Council, whic ...

. The Council merged into Longs Peak Council in 1928. In 1917, the Casper Council (#638) was formed, changing its name to Casper Area Council in 1925. It reformed in 1918, merging into Central Wyoming Council (#638) in 1931. In 1920, the Sheridan Council (#640), changing its name to Sheridan County Council in 1922; changing its name again to Sheridan Area Council in 1926. In 1929, the Central Wyoming Council (#638) was formed. In southwestern Wyoming the

Jim Bridger Council The Trapper Trails Council is a former local council of the Boy Scouts of America that served areas in Northern Utah, Southern Idaho and Western Wyoming serving 18 districts. In April 2020, it combined with the former Great Salt Lake and Utah ...

was headquartered in Rock Springs, Wy. The Jim Bridger Council had a Scout Camp at New Fork Lakes on the northwestern slope of the Wind River Mountains. The Jim Bridger Council encompassed the Green River Basin and included the Woodruff and Randolph Utah Area. Towns included in the council were Rock Springs, Green River, Pinedale, Big Piney, Kemmerer, Opal, Mountain View, Lyman, Fort Bridger and Evanston. The council was merged with two councils in Utah in the early 1990's. The council was home to Order of the Arrow Lodge 529 – Tatanka. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Norman Mineta was detained in the Heart Mountain

internment camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

near Cody, Wyoming, along with thousands of other Japanese immigrants and

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

s. While detained in the camp, Mineta, a

Boy Scout A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...

, met fellow Scout

Alan K. Simpson Alan Kooi Simpson (born September 2, 1931) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party, who represented Wyoming in the United States Senate (1979–97). He also served as co-chair of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibil ...

, future U.S. Senator from

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

, who often visited the Scouts in the internment camp with his troop. The two became, and have remained, close friends and political allies.

Recent history (1950–1990)

In 1954 the National Order of the Arrow Conference was held at the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

Boy Scouts of America in Wyoming today

There are five

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

(BSA) local councils in Wyoming.

Black Hills Area Council

Black Hills Area Council serves Scouts in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

and Wyoming. Black Hills Area Council is headquartered in

Rapid City, South Dakota Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western So ...

Adventure West Council

Spanning over half of the state of Wyoming, the Greater Wyoming Council (Central Wyoming Council before 2016) provides service for boys from age 8 to 21. Greater Wyoming Council is headquartered in

Casper, Wyoming Casper is a city in, and the county seat of, Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. Casper is the second-largest city in the state, with the population at 59,038 as of the 2020 census. Only Cheyenne, the state capital, is larger. Casper is nic ...

. In May of 2021 Greater Wyoming Council merged with Longs Peak Council to form Adventure West Council

Organization

* West District * East District

Camps

Camp Buffalo Bill lies seven miles east of the East Gate of

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

in the Shoshone National Forest. The camp is ideal for troops wishing to have both a Scout camp experience and tour the nation's first

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

. Camp Buffalo Bill is also the home of the Yellowstone High Adventure Outpost, a high adventure program where scouts can participate in one of four core areas: Trek, Climbing, Paddlesports, and Winter.

Grand Teton Council

Grand Teton Council is the result of a merger between the

Tendoy Area Council Scouting in Idaho has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live. History The Ashton Council was founded in Ashton, Idaho in 1917. It closed in 1918. ...

and Idaho Falls Council, and serves Scouts in both

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

and Wyoming.

Longs Peak Council

The Longs Peak Council is headquartered in

Greeley, Colorado Greeley is the home rule municipality city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Weld County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,795 at the 2020 United States Census, an increase of 17.12% since the 2010 ...

. Named after the tallest peak in the council territory, Longs Peak Council serves

Scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

youth in northeastern

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, southeastern Wyoming and western

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

Trapper Trails Council

The Trapper Trails Council is headquartered in

Ogden, Utah Ogden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth ...

. Trapper Trails Council was formed from a merger between

Lake Bonneville Council Scouting in Utah has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live. History The first known Boy Scout Troop was the Episcopalian Troop One led by Reverend R ...

and Cache Valley Area Council, and serves Scouts in southwestern

, southern

, and northern

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

Girl Scouting in Wyoming

The Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming with headquarters in

Billings, Montana Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Metrop ...

serves Wyoming. There is a service center in

as well as several camps.

External links

Greater Wyoming Council

Black Hills Area Council

Grand Teton Council

Longs Peak Council

Trapper Trails Council

Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming

References

{{Scouting in the United States Youth organizations based in Wyoming

Western Region (Boy Scouts of America)