Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Editorial: Ask Boy Scouts to clean up
Jamboree won't ruin Rockbridge County.
From the RoundTable blog
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A debate over the Boy Scouts of America's jamboree boils down to two numbers.
22,000 -- The population of Rockbridge County, where the Boy Scouts want to hold its gatherings after 2010.
240,000 -- The number of Scouts and support personnel who might attend.
More than 10 Scouts per resident cannot help but affect the rural county, even if they stick to the proposed site near Goshen. Cars and buses will crowd local roads, and even conscientious Scouts generate waste.
Some county residents therefore want the Boy Scouts to hold their jamboree elsewhere. They do not want to lose the rural character of the community or see the Maury River harmed by so many people.
Their concerns are warranted, but their solution is too extreme.
The jamboree usually takes place once every four years. True, for 10 days it would overwhelm the community, but Scouts would depart quickly enough, leaving behind several dozen full-time jobs and more than $100 million worth of infrastructure investment. Any community should welcome that sort of economic development these days.
The environment, too, would be safe if county officials demonstrate some prudence. The jamboree deal remains in the works, and Rockbridge could ask the Scouts to implement conservation measures to protect the Maury and other natural resources. The organization should be more than interested in complying. After all, its reputation would be on the line.
Rockbridge need look no farther than Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia, where the 2010 jamboree will take place. A federal environmental assessment concluded it would have "no significant impact." With due caution, Rockbridge could expect the same.
