As the summer camp season draws near, hundreds of Moms and Sons are preparing for an action packed weekend in the Nicolet National Forest!  In recent history, this event has typically been a Cub Scout event, with the purpose to expose young Cub Scouts to all the great fun to be had at a Boy Scout Camp.

In celebration of the Boy Scouts of America reaching the century mark, Boy Scouts and thier mothers are invited to participate in Mom and Son 2010 .  During the first Mom and Son events in the early 1990′s, the program was for Boy Scouts to invite their mothers to camp in order for the son to share all that he had learned since crossing into the Boy Scouts.   In today’s Scouting program, a Boy Scout’s mother has every opportunity to be as involved in the Scouting program as his father.

As the current Chair of the Mom and Son program, I would like to personally thank each staff member who has volunteered to help make Mom and Son 2010 an unforgettable experience for the hundreds of Scouts and their moms who will participate.

Moms and Sons who are ready to register can do so by completing this registration form.  $60 registration fee includes meals and programs for the entire weekend for one mom and son.  Include an additional $15 for each additional Scout participant.  Registration deadline is June 4.

Twenty two volunteers arrived with hammers in hand to complete their cheerful service on Order of the Arrow Fix-it Day April 24. The major project, replacement of the Torinus roof was completed handily by the end of the weekend and all the waste was carted away. Despite the rain on Saturday, arrowmen were also able to complete cleanup work and wood removal on the Shotgun Range and in the Field of Dreams.

Special thank you to all who helped make this work day a success. Without the dedication of volunteers Bear Paw would not be able to operate. We look forward to seeing you for more cheerful service for OA Spring Conference, June 4 -6.

Getting camp ready for the summer is no ordinary affair, it takes an army of volunteers!  As thousands of Scouts set their sights on the summer of 2010, Order of the Arrow members from the OSUS Chapter, Mom and Son, and Summer Camp Staff members converge for a weekend of cheerful service and fellowship.  YOUR HELP IS NEEDED! Please visit http://www.awase.org/ to download the registration form and mail before May 28th to avoid the late registration fee.

Spring Conference is also a great opportunity to go through your Ordeal if you were elected by your troop in the past year.  If you are eligible for Brotherhood, take advantage of Spring Conference to make your commitment to the Order of the Arrow before the summer camp season takes off.

See you at camp…

Order of the Arrow Fix-it Day is coming April 24 and a work plan is already in place. Each year, Awase Lodge members plan a day to work on major renovation projects at Bear Paw. This year the roof of Torinus Lodge, the Summer Camp Office, will be replaced with a new, low-maintenance, metal roof like the ones installed recently on Hitch Lodge and Saffran Lodge. As the size of the work crew expands, additional projects include window replacement for Saffran Lodge and logging cleanup around the acreage.

Fix-it Day is sponsored by the Order of the Arrow and is an opportunity for all Scouters with talent and opportunity to help camp. Workers are encouraged to bring their own hand tools and cordless drills if they can. All remaining tools will be provided. Lunch is prepared and provided by the Order of the Arrow in exchange for your cheerful service.

A handful of workers have already agreed to volunteer but more bodies are needed for these projects to be successful. Due to the nature of the project, Torinus roof replacement will actually begin on Thursday and continue to completion on work day. If you are available and willing to join the work crew, be sure to contact Camp Ranger Andy Anderson. Additional information is detailed in the Ranger’s Corner forum on our message board so please join the conversation.

For those looking to take advantage of the installment plan for Summer Camp fees, May 3 is the deadline for the final installment payment. Be sure that all boys are registered for BPSC 2010 as Summer Camp is rapidly approaching.

Learn all of the details by studying our Summer Camp Fees page.

…and lots of it. A phrase heard many times over the course of the last three weekends. But, as April begins, warm temperatures bring to a close a spectacularly successful Maple Syrup Days 2010.

Throughout the month of March, the sap was running and Scouts were learning and collecting and sampling. More than 350 Boy Scouts and Venture Scouts from across the region experienced Maple Syrup Days 2010 and helped cap yet another season’s bountiful harvest.

The Maple Syrup Days experience is quite a unique Scouting adventure. After a tasty breakfast of… you guessed it, Bear Paw Maple Syrup, Scouts rotated throughout camp, stopping at stations and learning about the maple syrup trade. They played games, drilled and tapped trees, emptied collection buckets of sap, and learned to identify the best maples. Not yet tired, they also had a quick history lesson, prepared some maple syrup recipes, and got toasty in the sugar shack. But the likely highlight of the day was capping and labeling their very own bottle of Pure Bear Paw Maple Syrup to take home.

Long after the Maple Days program has ended, the work of the Bear Paw Sugar Shack continues. The slow process of evaporating off the 40 gallons of water it takes for one gallon of maple syrup continues long into the night. After twelve hours feeding the 1800 degree firebox every hour, there is just enough evaporated syrup to bottle a batch.

Sadly, the temperatures have risen and the sap is no longer running. But before we turn our thoughts to Swimming Merit Badge and a cool hammock nap off Chapel Point, there is still lots of work to be done. Once the buckets have been collected from the woods and cleaned, what remains is hours of stuffing the fire box and evaporating the hundreds of gallons of sap then bottling the 2010 crop of Pure Bear Paw Maple Syrup.

So next time you roll into camp look for this unique product on the Trading Post shelves and maybe next year you too can help produce, 100% Pure Bear Paw Maple Syrup.

The Bay-Lakes Council is once again proud to host Hunter Safety Education training at Bear Paw on April 9 – 11. Open to Scouts over the age of 12, this Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources course helps promote safe, responsible, respectful, and ethical hunting practices and encourages fun in the great outdoors.

Over the course of the weekend, Scouts will take part in classroom learning sessions and outdoor practical experiences. The outdoor program will include sessions on trapping, blood trail, crossing fences, treestands, shooting skills, and a field test. Scouts who complete the 10 hours of online training prior to attendance will be eligible to receive DNR Hunter Safety certification after completing this weekend.

The event begins Friday evening with check-in and classroom time and is finished after brief Sunday morning sessions. The $50 registration fee includes all meals, lodging, ammunition, and course fees for the weekend. Participants are encouraged to bring their own personal firearm, (and reminded to leave ALL ammunition home) but a rifle will be provided for any Scout who does not have one.

Registration for the program ends in March, so be sure to hurry and contact the Bay-Lakes Council Center for Scouting to secure a spot for Hunter Safety Education at Bear Paw, April 9 – 11.

Due to changing circumstances, NRA Instructor Training, formerly scheduled for April 2010, will not be held this spring.   We will do our best to keep you informed of other opportunities as they arise.  Thank you for your patience.

Can’t make it to your Troop’s Summer Camp week?

Don’t want to go with your Troop to one of those other Camps?

Want to enjoy a second week at Camp?

Then you need to plan to attend the Provisional Troop Program at Bear Paw Scout Camp!

August 1 – 7, 2010

The Bay Lakes Council will again have the Provisional Troop program at Bear Paw Scout Camp. The provisional troop is a chance for Scouts to attend camp who are unable to go with their home unit or for boys who wish to attend a second week of camp at a reduced rate.

Participants are placed in the provisional troop with other boys from all over the council. It is a great chance for scouts to experience a different troop atmosphere plus make many new friends.  Jim Wellens will again head up a team of top-notch adult leaders who are committed to giving the boys a great week of Scouting at Bear Paw Scout Camp.  It has proven to be a group that lives Scouting the way it was designed and is guaranteed to be a blast!

To join Provisional Troop 6350, complete the registration form and send it by July 1 to the Center for Scouting.  Feel free to post questions in the discussion forums on the BPSC.org Bulletin Board. Once your registration is submitted, you will receive an information packet with everything you need know for the week.

The sap is running!   Temperatures in the first week of March reached the required 40 degree mark and the tree tapping has begun.  Derek Fournier, Maple Syrup Days coordinator, reports that he began tapping trees, hanging buckets, and installing tubing on Monday.  According to reports, over 125 gallons of sap have already been collected in the first week of the season.  And excitement is building.

Once again Maple Syrup Days will be held on three consecutive weekends, March 20, 27 and April 3.   High demand has already filled both of the day long sessions in March, but if you and your Scout unit want to spend a day at camp learning and harvesting and preparing maple syrup now is the time to sign up for Saturday, April 3.  Spots still remain available but they are going fast.

Derek also wants to remind Scouters that he is still welcoming volunteers who can help staff the event for any of the weekends.   There will be a good number of participants and help is needed all around.  Contact Derek directly via

To learn all about Maple Syrup Days at Bear Paw, be sure to read our Maple Days page.