Three Scouts are making an impact by one Eagle Scout project at a time in Baker County.

An Eagle Scout project is developed by a Scout who proposes the project to build or develop something that will benefit the community.

“It’s a lesson and demonstration in leadership skills that the Scout has developed over their Scouting career,” said Casey Taylor, leader of Troop 357, which is chartered by the Masonic Lodge.

Prior to 2024, the last Eagle Scout project in Baker City was completed in 2021 when Clayton Dennis did a native plant garden rehabilitation at the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center.

Little libraries

Jack Murphy, 16, is a member of Troop 433, which is chartered by the Baker Elks Lodge. He joined the Scouts in Colorado when he was 11, and continued with the program as he moved to Japan, where his dad, Barry, was stationed as an F-16 pilot with the U.S. Air Force.

After moving to Baker City in 2023, Murphy joined the local troop.

“I was looking for an Eagle Scout project,” he said.

Karen Tannehill, coordinator of the Baker County Community Literacy Coalition, had talked to Scout leader James Simpson about building little libraries for Baker High School and Baker Middle School.

Murphy thought that was a fine idea, and spent most of the summer working on it.

“It was a new experience for me,” he said of the woodworking skills involved with building the libraries. “It took a whole lot longer than I thought it would.”

The libraries were installed in early September with the help of his leader and troop. Tannehill has stocked the libraries with books, and welcomes community donations, too.

“If you have teen books your kids have outgrown, that would be great,” she said.

A place for fishing line

Weston Bryant, 18, is with Scout Troop 357. His Eagle Scout project was to build receptacles at local ponds where anglers can place tangled fishing line rather than littering.

“I really like fishing, and love being out here,” Bryant said on Dec. 23, as he dug into the semi-frozen ground to install his first project, at the Highway 203 Pond on the east side of Interstate 84 at the Medical Springs exit about 5 miles north of Baker City.

He built three receptacles using bent irrigation pipe donated by Tim Kerns. The larger pipe was sunk into concrete, and then buried. A smaller pipe, outfitted with a rubber cap, is for collecting wads of fishing line.

“We’re hoping to get the community involved,” Bryant said.

He placed one at the fishing area on the north side of the pond, one at the north entrance, and one on the south side.

Although this installation completed his project, Bryant plans to build more to place at ponds near Haines and North Powder.

Pedestrian access

Glen Taylor, 17, also with Scout Troop 357, worked with the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center to design his Eagle Scout project. In September, Taylor created access near the main gates for walkers and bicyclists to access the trail system when the center is closed.

He built two gates — one on the road that leads up to the center, and one on the exit road.

The gates are just wide enough for a person or a bicycle, but too narrow for a car or ATV.

This idea came about, he said, after his first one didn’t work out.

“When I was looking for a backup, I looked at projects up here and what needed to be done,” he said.

The Scouts

To find out more about Scouts in Eastern Oregon, or to find a troop, visit bluemountainscouts.org.