I get it: between pederasty suits and the lure of X Boxes, the Boy Scouts are in financial trouble, but still, this is troubling

see ya!

(From FWIW’s New Mexico Correspondent, who’s been web surfing, I suppose)

The Boy Scouts of America are selling a large Connecticut scout reservation to developers. Conservationists are scrambling to stop them

Conservationists in Connecticut are scrambling to stop the sale of a large parcel of land in Killingworth, which they say should be maintained as a camping ground or nature reserve.

The land, a 253-acre parcel known as Deer Lake, is currently owned by the Connecticut Yankee Council of the Boys Scouts of America. The organization announced last month that it plans to sell to a private buyer unless it receives a higher bid by March 31.

Conservationists in the area have urged the council to instead accept a lower offer from the Trust for Public Land, which would buy the property for its assessed value and maintain it as is. As they see it, selling Deer Lake to private developers would violate the spirit of the Connecticut Yankee Council, which operates as a tax-exempt nonprofit.

“The fact that they’re considering, even thinking about, selling this property for development is, to me, in complete opposition to their mission,” said David Anderson, land campaigns manager for Save the Sound, a Connecticut-based environmental group.the private buyer has offered $4.6 million, while the Trust for Public Land has offered $2.4 million. The Connecticut Yankee Council declined to comment Tuesday beyond a statement issued in February, in which the organization said selling Deer Lake was a “difficult decision” that was nonetheless necessary amid a decline in membership.

“Simply put, we own too many properties for the membership we have today,” the council said. “While the outdoors are critical to delivering Scouting’s mission of preparing youth for life, owning property is not.”

UPDATE: A couple of readers have pointed out the obvious solution for those who don’t want to see this property developed: buy it themselves. And in fact, I’d think that the officers of the BSA organization, or whatever entity holds title, would have a hard time justifying their accepting a sale price $2.2 million lower than the $4.6 offered; they owe a fiduciary duty to someone, somewhere. I really posted this more as a sorrowful commentary on the decline of a once valuable institution. I gained some useful outdoor skills in the Boy Scouts, and enjoyed being a scout, until I didn’t. Now, very few kids are interested.

One further note: although the article says that the scouts announced their decision to sell “last month”, I remember reading about this dispute at least two, possibly three years ago, when the announcement was made that the property was going to be put on the market, so there’s been plenty of time for the opponents to raise money to buy it. The fact that they couldn’t shows that, while there are people who don’t want to see it developed, not many are willing to back their hand-wringing with, you know, money.

Still, I think it’s a shame to see it get carved up.