Utah Scouts preparing to push summer safety

In the wake of high-profile outdoor tragedies in recent years, the Great Salt Lake Council of the Boy Scouts of America is revising its rules to help keep Scouts safe this summer, and one Utah mom has developed an outdoors safety pack for children.

The organization has made sweeping changes to many of its camping policies, including new safety measures for hikes, precautions against lighting strikes and new guidelines for campfires.

"We now have in place tracking devices that can be checked out," said local BSA director of camping Matt Monroe. The state has about four dozen of the tracking devices available for any Scout troop to check out. The devices can be worn around a Scout's neck or like a wristband.

"The Scoutmaster has a device that can pinpoint where the boy is," Monroe said.

The tracking devices are similar to what people in the sport of falconry use to keep track of their birds. Although they are not required, Monroe said he hopes they are used — especially by troops planning hikes in the High Uintas.

"It's an added layer of security," he said.

Other safety measures include a national BSA program, "Trek Safely," aimed at training local Scout leaders and their troops about how to be safe during outdoor outings. The 40- minute training emphasizes seven points:

• Qualified supervision;

• Keep fit;

• Plan ahead;

• Gear up;

• Communicate clearly and completely;

• Monitor conditions;

• Discipline.

In addition, the council has made a "Lost Youth Prevention" card that is printed on card stock and given to Scouts to carry in their pockets when they go hiking. The card emphasizes safety measures such as using the buddy system and offers safety advice if a Scout becomes lost: Don't move, stay calm, use a whistle from the Scout's pack, drink water and stay dry.

A special "Keeping Safe in the Outdoors" training packet was also developed locally for Cub Scouts, boys between the ages of 7 and 10.

Lost Boy Scouts have made big headlines in Utah in recent years. Bountiful resident Brennan Hawkins, 11, was lost for four days last year in the East Fork area near the Bear River Boy Scouts Reservation in the Uinta Mountains before being found alive.

Zachary Jones, 14, Ogden, was lost for 19 hours in the Green River Lakes area of Wyoming's Bridger-Teton National Forest after leaving a main trail and getting lost on his way back to camp last year.

And Garrett Bardsley, 12, disappeared while camping with a church group in the High Uintas in 2004. His body has not been found.