The San Francisco Sea Scout program is facing unprecedented challenges, which threaten to abolish the quality maritime experience it has been delivering to San Francisco youth for over three generations.  We wish to keep you informed of recent developments between the National Park Service (NPS) and the Sea Scouts, as they relate to the San Francisco Sea Scout Base.

The San Francisco Sea Scout program has operated in Aquatic Park for over 60 years, serving the city’s young men and women with a program steeped in practical boat maintenance, small boat sailing, maritime history, as well as teamwork and community service.  The Base has been home to numerous Sea Scout Ships over the years, currently being a home port to several historic vessels operated by three Sea Scout ships — one ship being Northern California’s only all-female sailing Sea Scout unit.

The program has always been centered on traditional wooden whaleboats, fiberglass boats Cal-20s and power boats such as a 70 year old Monterey.  In the early 1950s the Sea Scout Base was outfitted with a set of manually operated whaleboat davits that allowed for the hauling out of boats to perform tasks ranging from routine maintenance to complete vessel restoration. The youth members quickly become adept at hauling out vessels safely and practicing maritime skills associated with these historic boats — which is an integral component of the project-based training.  The heart of the program is teaching and conducting boat preservation and maintenance — goals that align directly with those of the Maritime National Historic Park.

The San Francisco Sea Scout Base and the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park function under the parameters outlined in the General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Report of 1997.  In fact, the Sea Scout Base is located in the Cultural Zone of the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.  It appears that the Management Plan intended to allow for the continued use of the Sea Scout Base by Scouts, as it was recognized that the program supplies a critical cultural and educational component, particularly as it relates to youth.  Over the past years we have operated our programs at the Base under a Cooperative Agreement between Boy Scouts of America and the NPS.  It was during this time (2003) that the Sea Scout Base underwent significant retrofitting and rehabilitation with the cost borne by the BSA.

In March of 2008 we received a Draft Cooperative Agreement for our review. We responded promptly, providing comments for continued discussion, but never heard back from the NPS.  Later in summer we learned that the Cooperative Agreement was to be replaced by a Special Use Permit, but 2008 ended without a draft agreement or further discussion.

On January 21, 2009 the National Park Service sent a non-negotiable Special Use Permit, with only a few short weeks to comply with their demands.  The new document effectively cripples our program with the following new operating parameters:
– No vessels may be hauled out
– No maintenance work of any kind, including sanding and painting, may be done
– No more than four moorings may be had, as opposed to ten

– The ongoing historical whaleboat restoration project must be relocated
– The storage lockers, sail lockers and workshop must be emptied
– All small boats except for two dinghies less than 10 feet long must be removed

In its cover letter the NPS appears to be using environmental compliance issues as a reason to dismantle the Sea Scout program. In an NPS environmental audit done on December 8 without sea scout observers and made by an unlicensed auditor three observations of possible environmental concerns were noted. They have not been substantiated. The NPS has apologized in our meeting with them and acknowledged that the observations were not due to sea scout activity or sources of pollution. The Sea Scouts follow the same standards and environmental protection rules that NPS staff follows for its boat work at Hyde Street Pier.  Over the course of the past years we have responded immediately to fire and safety inspection punch lists, but have never been the object of an environmental citation or violation.

The NPS is sending response letters to our supporters saying they want to “practice high environmental protection,” which we already do. Sea Scouts doesn’t see how evicting us and shutting off our maintenance will teach today’s youth how to work with environmentally sound boat maintenance practices.

The program relies on being able to haul and maintain our vessels at our site at little or no cost.  The Sea Scouts could never afford to pay boat yard rates for haul out and repair costs that we have been doing at our own facility.  Indeed, it would deprive us of the continued teaching opportunities that are the cornerstone of our program.

Furthermore, the NPS proposes limiting the program by:

– Limiting keys for building access, reducing from 30 keys to four, which severely restricts our volunteer program
– Limiting hours of access to the Sea Scout Base, which will eliminate our traditional overnight activities
– Mandating the removal of all maintenance tools and materials from the Base; eliminating our ability to conduct repairs, maintenance and preservation
– Eliminating 60 percent of our boat moorings
– Mandating the relocation of 60 percent of our program’s vessels
– Eliminating ongoing historic boat restoration projects
– Locking the Sea Scouts out of interior building space and locker space, to be for NPS personnel use
– Removing all signage from the Sea Scout Base so that the building cannot be identified as the Sea Scout Base.

All of the above will fundamentally change and perhaps kill the San Francisco Sea Scout program, which has been in place for over 60 years. For almost a year the NPS has ignored our repeated requests for discussion regarding our tenancy; left our moorings to break, putting our vessels on the beach; and harassed our volunteers. It is unfair and without precedent for the NPS to produce such an onerous contract without any input from the Sea Scouts — and requiring such an impossibly short time frame in which to respond.  We are taking immediate action to insure the continuation of critical program elements and the Sea Scout tradition in Aquatic Park.

– It is our intention to resist any attempt by the NPS to remove our program from the Sea Scout Base.  We wish to enter into a longterm tenancy agreement similar in structure with our prior Cooperative Agreements.

– It is our objective to call for the NPS to live up to their responsibilities by providing maintenance for the facility and docks.

-It is our goal to have ten safe moorings in Aquatic Park — we will be delighted to perform the work ourselves.

– We expect the NPS to work within the spirit and guidelines described in the General Management Plan of 1997.

If you, as a supporter of Sea Scouts, have suggestions as to how we can work most effectively through this difficult time, please let us know.  If there is someone in a position of influence who might listen to our story, please introduce us. We will be calling on all of our friends and supporters in the next few weeks as we proceed in our negotiations with the NPS — thank you in advance for all of your help.

February 20, 2009: After a meeting with Assistant Regional Director George Turnbull, the Superintendent rescinded the order for the Sea Scouts to vacate lockers and buoys by March 31. She reinstated the prior agreement, which was a Cooperative Use Agreement. Unfortunately, her Stop Work Order remained in effect, preventing the Sea Scouts from repairing the damage to Mischief (our wooden power boat) caused by the Park’s negligent maintenance of moorings.

March 25, 2009: Thanks to Gina Banks of Senator Feinstein’s office, Mark Herbert of Speaker Pelosi’s office and retired Admiral Tom Brown of the Navy League for attending a meeting between Sea Scouts and the the Park Service. During the Meeting, Assistant Regional Director Turnbull conveyed Regional Director Jonathan Jarvis’ desire for a prompt resolution of all issues. ARD Turnbull asked the Superintendent and Sea Scouts to work diligently on best management practices for boat work at the Sea Scout Base, so that the Stop Work Order could be lifted within a week.

April 2, 2009: Best management practices, prepared by the Sea Scouts, reviewed by the Park Services staff in an extended work session, and updated by the Sea Scouts, have been submitted for approval by the Superintendent, as a basis for her to lift the Stop Work Order. This is the first best management practices document prepared by any of the organizations at Aquatic Park. Indications are that the Park Service will agree to follow the same practices.

Many issues remain for discussion and formulation of a long term agreement to keep the Sea Scouts in the Base. With your help and support, we have an interim arrangement and an agreement to conduct further meetings. We urge your continuing attention to this, until a ten year agreement is in place.

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