Expanding Philmont???
Scott Begin (0005555440@MCIMAIL.COM)
Wed, 3 Apr 1996 12:41:00 EST
With as fast as the reservations for Philmont for 1997 / 1998 filled up,
someone asked why we couldn't develop something else or expand
Philmont.
Although this may seem like a simple solution, it really isn't, mainly
due to the size / capacity of Philmont. Let's start by looking at
developing a "Philmont II."
When I worked at Philmont (1988-1990), I remember David Bates telling us
that the property had been appraised at somewhere in the $60 million
range, and I suspect that it has gone up since then. Now, I don't know
how much an equivalent size ranch would cost, but I suspect that
purchasing property would be a large part of any cost to develop
Philmont II. I don't think the BSA has the money to spend on this type
of project. Even if they did, I suspect it would take a lot of
searching to find a property equivalent in backpacking potential (or
found public lands we could use). Once you found the property, it
probably would need lots of work before it would even come close to what
is available at Philmont: trails, base camp facilities, back country
staff facilities, etc.. need to be built if the property is to handle
the number of campers required to take a load off Philmont. This would
require more money, and more importantly, time, measured in years.
Even if you did build it, you still would have people wanting to go to
Philmont because it is what they have heard about, etc... Just because
a similar backpacing program is offered, people won't necessarily flock
to it. In the last few years, the Maine High Adventure Base was closed
as a national base (I believe it has been reopened as a regional base),
even though it offered backpacking opportunities like Philmont. I
believe declining attendance was a contributing factor
If demand drops before you get the thing built (possibility if the
economy really hits the skids), you will have an even harder time
filling the place (and Philmont too). Even if you don't fill both
places, there are still going to be maintainence costs, etc.. of trying
to run both places. This can be an even bigger drain on the BSA
resources.
All of the land that is at Philmont was donated, most of it by Waite
Phillips, with the 10,000 acres of the Baldy country donated by Norton
Clapp in 1963. Much of the development was done over the years, and
some of it funded by the land donors. In many cases, the initial
development was done before many of today's regulations were in place,
making it cheaper to develop. Also, the original developments were not
designed for today's crowds. As the demand grew, larger facilities were
added. The current base dining hall was built in the 1970's, replacing
the building that is now the trading post (imagine feeding 1000 people
at one meal using the Trading Post building).
Since the cost of developing another high adventure would be
phohibitive, let's look at expanding Philmont:
In a way, this is already taking place. Starting when I worked at the
ranch, the BSA gained access to the Valle Vidal unit of the Kit Karson
National Forest (which borders Philmont on the North, beyond Dan Beard
Camp). In the first few years, there wasn't much use, other than by
Rayado, Trail Crew, and Mountain Trek Crews (all of which get custom
itineraries). In the last several years, new staffed camps were opened
in the Valle Vidal and regular itineraries were planned in these areas.
Additional staffed camps were opened on other places on the ranch. When
I was at Philmont in 1994 for the Philmont Staff Association trek, Dave
Bates mentioned that they were expecting a record 18,000 campers and the
only reason they were able to handle it was due to the increased number
of staffed camps.
In 1994, I also saw the plans for expanding capacity of the base camp.
Among these was the new covered welcome center, with all incomming /
outgoing crews entering from the Lover's Leap Road. This was started
last winter, according to the announcements I received from the PSA-L
list (Philmont Staff Association mailing list). I also saw plans to
expand the Dining Hall (I seem to recall 1997 as a target date) and the
trading post.
Dave Bates also mentioned the possibility of purchasing more land,
specifically a parcel north of the north Ponil Canyon (Indian Writings).
My understanding was that this deal fell through. I remember hearing
about this potential purchase when I worked there. It may happen in the
future. My understanding was that if this purchase ever happens, it
will help capacity increase the most, due to additional land, but also
as it would allow better access to the Valle Vidal. Current capacity is
more limited by the places to put campers without damaging the land or
putting everyone too close to each other (and losing the wilderness
experience).
In addition to the infrastructure / additional space requirements, there
is an additional concern. In order to add camper capacity, you need to
add staff members. In addition to the salaries each staff member
requires, there is the problem of recruiting quality staff (and I'm sure
anyone working with local council camps can relate to this). When I
worked at Philmont in the late 1980s/early 1990s, there were many people
on staff who had not been to Philmont as campers, and others who were
not scouts /scouters (although they registered in order to work on
staff). One staff member I met had been recruited at a summer job fair
at his college. Dave Bates mentioned that when the economy is better,
recruiting good staff is harder, as the college students that make up a
large part of the staff can find better paying jobs at home.
{Opinionts Follow}
My personal opinion is that they are working to expand capacity slowly,
which is good. However, I think that the demand is growing much faster
that they are able to expand capacity. I also believe that Philmont is
experiencing growing pains related to the increased demand.
>From what I can tell about how Philmont is running the reservation
system, they have some other company doing most of the grunt work
(answering the phones, etc...), and that is unlikely to change. I was
really surprized when they went back to the telephone regestration. I
think the 1995 lottery was a good idea that was poorly implemented
(specifically the method of handling the waiting list). I suspect that
the lottery system for the Cavalcades was used, and due to differences
in how the programs operated (Cavalcades vs regular crews), caused a lot
of the problems. I think it will take a few years before Philmont will
find a "fair" reservation system, and even if they do, there will still
be people who don't get reservations who will not be happy.
Yours in Scouting,
Scott A. Begin ASM, T-348, Oak Forest, IL; Calumet Council
5555440@mcimail.com Philmont Staff 1988-1990
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