By Edward Lynn
Editor
CLEAR LAKE, Iowa — At just 14 years old, Andrew Vaughn has already achieved more than most Scouts dream of in a lifetime. The Eagle Grove teen was recently recognized with the Scouting America Distinguished Conservation Service Award, formerly the William T. Hornaday Award—a national honor so rare, only about a dozen Scouts across the entire country earn it each year.
While Vaughn had been presented the award at the 100-year celebration of the Ingawanis Adventure Base late last year, he was formally recognized for the honor at the Lakeland District’s annual dinner in Clear Lake, in mid March.
The award recognizes Vaughn’s exceptional leadership and environmental commitment. It also places him in a distinguished class of Scouts who have gone far beyond the requirements of traditional scouting, tackling ambitious conservation projects with national-level impact.
“It’s hard. It’s a lot of work, but it’s worth the time,” Vaughn told the crowd of assembled scouts and scout leaders at the ceremony. That understatement belied the enormous effort it took to get there. Two separate conservation projects are required for a scout to earn the award. Vaughn performed three, each meeting the rigorous standards of an Eagle Scout service project. Vaughn also earned nine conservation related merit badges.
His first project targeted a quiet but deadly environmental hazard: discarded fishing line. Vaughn designed, built, and installed fishing line recycling stations at both Lake Cornelia and Briggs Woods Park, helping to prevent wildlife entanglement and water pollution. While also enabling the plastic to be recycled. As simple as it might sound, these receptacles have a tangible, lasting impact on the local ecosystem.
Next, he turned his attention skyward—literally. For Earth Day, Vaughn planted a milkweed and pollinator plot at Lake Cornelia County Park to support the monarch butterfly population, which migrates directly through Wright County. Monarchs rely on milkweed as a food source, but habitat destruction along their migration route has decimated their numbers. Vaughn’s milkweed garden, carefully planned and ecologically beneficial, is helping change that trajectory.
But it was his third project that officially earned him the rank of Eagle Scout: the construction and installation of bat boxes at Briggs Woods Park. Iowa’s bat population has been dwindling due to habitat loss, and Vaughn’s project restored vital nesting spaces for the nocturnal pollinators, which also provide natural pest control.
Together, these efforts impressed the National Council of Scouting America and earned him one of the most difficult recognitions in all of youth conservation work.
According to Scouting America, the Distinguished Conservation Service Award is given to individuals who not only complete two or more significant conservation projects, but also demonstrate a clear understanding of ecology, natural resource management, and community leadership. Scouts must document their work in detail—often filling multiple binders with research, planning, and outcomes.
Vaughn’s project documentation filled three.
“When he turned in his multiple binders… I’ve never seen an Eagle Scout application go that deep,” said Winnebago Council CEO James Madison at the ceremony. “This was next-level stuff.”
Scoutmaster Rick Dawson, who has guided dozens of young people through the path to Eagle, praised Vaughn not only for his dedication, but for the way he inspired others. “A lot of kids look up to Andrew,” Dawson has said. “They can’t believe how fast he’s achieved the ranks. He’s helped out the troop immensely.”
Indeed, Vaughn’s momentum is hard to ignore. He achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in record time—less than two years after joining Troop 1059. That makes him the fastest Eagle Scout in Eagle Grove history. And he’s not stopping.
Vaughn says he plans to stay active in scouting, mentor younger members, and keep working on conservation and service projects. His long-term dream? To see his own kids become Eagle Scouts one day.
For now, though, Vaughn stands as a clear example of what youth leadership can look like: fast-moving, community-rooted, environmentally focused, and absolutely relentless.
