Ben Pierce, executive director of the Swamp Base project for the Boy Scouts of America’s Evangeline Area Council, attended the Aug. 13 meeting of the Henderson Town Council, briefing officials on the project.
Pierce presented a detailed update on the Scouts’ ambitious plans for their recently-acquired 62-acre property along the West Atchafalaya Protection Levee previously occupied by MeGee’s Landing. The Swamp Base will eventually feature a multi-story complex that will include a 200-seat restaurant and beds for 250 scouts and non-scout visitors.
Also part of the planned 40,000 sq. ft. facility are a STEAM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Arts-Math) educational building, meeting facilities, an outdoor outfitter, theater and marina facilities. The facility will be visible from I-10 and is expected to bring thousands of visitors every year from all over the world to enjoy the Atchafalaya Basin in the most environmentally friendly way.
Expanding the reach of the Swamp Base to populations far beyond Scout membership will be a high priority. Pierce said groups such as K-12 students as well as university research programs and the general public will be a central aim of worldwide promotion efforts. The Scouts project that 80 to 85 percent of visitors will not be scouts.
All facilities will be designed with accessibility for special needs visitors and their families and their inclusion in the Swamp Base experience will be a prime focus.
Pierce said the hope of the Scouts is that the facility will play a major role in educating people about the sensitivity of this fragile system. They believe it will lead to more support for coastal restoration and bring attention to the need to change practices in northern parts of the country that contributed to pollution of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers.
The Swamp Base will bring new dollars into the local economy. The facility is expected to cost $40 million to build, mostly coming from private funding sources. Local residents will be employed and many opportunities will be available for supporting businesses to develop.
“The most important thing to us is that people who experience the swamp adventure camp program and all visitors go away with a completely different definition of the word ‘swamp’,” Pierce added. “They will no longer think of it as a wasteland. It becomes a treasured place that should be protected, appreciated and enjoyed.”
