A few months ago, I received an email from Brandon Frazier, Public Affairs Coordinator at Student Conservation Association (SCA), who inquired about Black Outdoorsman Magazine (BOM)® featuring a story on their youth programs for the Kids Korner section. After weeks of coordinating schedules and a comprehensive pitch of the organization, BOM agreed to conduct a story on the program. Though Brandon provided me a passionate overview of SCA, I discovered the full value and amazing impact this program had on its participants while curiously surfing the promo material... I was amazed.

For 50 years, SCA has provided many youth participants the opportunity to discover the outdoors through hands on conservation activities that foster leadership and team building. The program has completed work in such places as the Grand Teton, Denali, Mount Ranier, and Great Smoky Mountain National Parks and has provided long lasting memories for participants as they experience such outdoor activities as rafting, hiking, trailing, climbing, and camping.

While recently cleaning out the storage area in my basement, I uncovered an old issue of National Geographic that ironically was dated the month and year of my birth. The crazy thing... the issue featured the adventures of Robin Lee Graham, a 16 year-old boy who for two years sailed solo around the world exploring the people and lands he encountered. The forty plus page article chronicled his sailing, diving, hiking, and other adventures... all that I had dreamed to do as a child growing up in Harlem, New York. Though I experienced my share of outdoor adventure as a Scout, the scouting thing soon became a distant passion. As with most teenagers, I decided to get a summer job in the city and signed up with the New York Summer Youth Employment Program rather than parading the scout uniform and earning one more badge to become an Eagle Scout.

Who knows... maybe if I were involved with SCA or a similar program I would have continued my dreams of exploring the world as a teenager or sought other opportunities in the field of conservation or outdoor recreation. Maybe I would have been a park ranger or a guide or even sailed solo around the world. That I'll never know. But programs like SCA are providing opportunities for youth that go beyond just providing jobs. These experiences are connecting participants to the outdoors and allowing them to become vested stakeholders in efforts to preserve and take care of the environment through meaningful conservation efforts. What better way to enjoy the outdoors and see the natural world from the eyes of a teenager.

After years of publishing, Black Outdoorsman Magazine (BOM) is proud to launch a highly anticipated new layout for this spring issue. This issue celebrates the new faces breaking ground in outdoor adventure and those that have made a commitment to seeking outdoor life for the betterment of their families and communities. Not only are Blacks participating more in outdoor adventure and travel, but they are sharing their outdoor experiences and skills as well. There are more Black outdoor organizations and clubs across the country than ever before with many providing outreach programs and outdoor activities to youth as well. The next generation of outdoor adventurers and conservationists are on the horizon.

This new issue showcases outdoor adventures from our BOM family with new multi-media formats including video and extended content for our readers. Videos include a Rockfishing trip on the Chesapeake Bay with me and a few friends and a white-tail deer hunting trip with Kevin Cartwright and Allen Brown. In this issue, BOM also takes a ride with Bernard Miles as he kayaks local waterways in North Carolina. Other features include a rock climbing adventure from Stephen Shobe, the RV stories of John Womack, and a fly-fishing trip in Montana with BOM friend, Richie Jones. We have added a New Product section to keep our readers informed on the most current outdoor equipment and paraphernalia. Current departments such as Outdoor Profile, Kids Korner, Urban Outdoors, Health Update, and others have been streamlined through drop-down menus to provide easier access to articles. And as many know, the BOM family loves to throw it down on the grill, so we'll continue to showcase tasty outdoor cuisine recipes from some of the best chefs across the country in our Outdoor Cuisine section.

It has been my passion and drive to provide our community with the best information on the how to and where to go for outdoor adventure and that commitment will continue as BOM looks to the horizon to better our families as we embody the spirit of the Black outdoorsman.

by Charles K. West