Eagle Scout Candidate Spiffs Up Trails at Mills

Essex County’s Mills Reservation is a special place for a local teen.

Justin Torlucci has been hiking there since he was a young boy. It’s where he first prepared for a 73-mile backpacking trip in New Mexico with fellow Boy Scouts.

The 17-year-old from Cedar Grove has spent countless hours exploring and maintaining the trails in the reservation, which straddles his hometown and Montclair.

So when it came time to choose a project, the Eagle Scout candidate knew what he wanted to do — Torlucci recently led a team of scouts from Cedar Grove Troop 65 in clearing and improving the red, blue and yellow trails.

“Something needed to be done to keep the trails from being ruined,” he said. “I chose three areas where repairs and trail rerouting would help to improve the trails.”

Eagle Scout is the highest rank given to members of Boy Scouts of America. About 6% of New Jersey Boy Scouts attain the rank of Eagle Scout.

In addition to the rigorous application and approval process, one of the many tasks required of an Eagle Scout candidate is to plan, implement and complete a community service project.  

The project demonstrates the candidate’s leadership qualities, organizational skills and his ability to bring a service project to fruition.