The following are the most current maps I have showing how the BSA is organized from a Regional and local Council basis.
The BSA started out with 12 Regions, each Region covering a small group of states or in some cases, parts of states.
In 1973, the BSA consoldated those Regions into six Regions....these six: Northeast, Southeast, East Central, North Central, South Central and Western -- were a big hit with volunteers as well as professionals.
In 1992, the BSA once again consoldated and reformulated those six Regions into four; the Northeast Region basically stayed the same, only adding a few more local Councils; the Southeast and South Central Regions combined to form a new Southern Region, losing a few Councils to other Regions. The East Central and North Central Regions combined to form a new Central Region, again losing a few Councils to the other three Regions; and the Western Region basically stayed the same, with the loss of a few Councils to Central and Southern Regions.
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As the number of Regions dropped from 12 to 6 to its present 4, the number of our local Councils dropped considerably as well. In 1971, the BSA had 439 local Councils within the US and around the world; by the time 1973 rolled around, that number dropped to 412 . [The numbering system in the BSA started with Council #1, Anniston, Alabama and goes from there in alphabetical order by state; as Councils were merged, they took on the earlier of the two numbers or created a new Council with a number above 615; as Councils split, they took on earlier numbers which were their predecessors or new numbers starting with 700; Council #800 was reserved for the BSA's international Direct Service Council, and Councils 801, 802 and 803 were the three overseas Councils of the BSA (Canal Zone, Transatlantic and Far East). In 1978, the BSA experimented with a consolidated Council concept, and assigned Council #850 to the Mass Bay Federated Councils -- four local Councils working together under one consoldated roof. While the BSA has assigned 850 Council numbers to date, the total number of local Councils in the BSA did not exceed 450 at any one time in its history].
Today, the BSA is moving toward 200 local Councils by the turn of the century, and is doing so by consolidating and merging smaller local Councils with larger ones. As of the date of this page creation, the BSA is about half-way toward its goal.
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It is hoped with these mergers and consoldations, both at the Regional and Council levels, that an increased amount of direct support can be provided to youth in those areas of our country at a reduced overall cost per youth member.
These maps are the latest versions of the BSA Council maps that I have, from 1992; if you have a more recent copy of these maps, please post me and let me know so that I may make them available to others! Thanks!
Settummanque!