Parties Meet To Consider Uses for, Conservation of Former Boy Scout Camp

By TERESA WINCHESTER
MILFORD

Some 20 representatives from Otsego County environmental organizations, governmental bodies and agencies, and Boy Scout-related personnel gathered on August 23 at the former Camp Henderson Scout Reservation on Crumhorn Lake in the Town of Milford. They were joined by U.S. Congressman Marc Molinaro (R-19th District) and State Senator Peter Oberacker (R,C-51st Senate District). All parties were seeking a harmonic convergence to ensure the conservation of the 668-acre former scout camp, one of the largest undeveloped tracts of land remaining in Otsego County.

The extensive acreage features abundant woodlands, 63 acres of wetlands and more than 11,000 feet of frontage on New York State Department of Environmental Conservation classified streams. It is also immediately adjacent to the Susquehanna State Forest. Also part of the package are numerous buildings, including a 10,000-square-foot dining hall in good condition, a tower for rock climbing, a craft building and 20-30 other structures, in varying states of repair and suitable for different uses.

The land, owned by Leatherstocking Council BSA, was put on the market in 2022 as a result of collateral damage resulting from multiple sexual abuse lawsuits, which led the Boy Scouts of America to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2020. Other factors such as poor camp attendance, camp condition, and a denial of an “Intent to Operate” also played a part in the decision to sell. The asking price is $6.9 million, with no constraints as to how the property can be sold, subdivided or used.

The meet-up was organized by the Otsego Land Trust to provide a tour of the property and stress the importance of conservation. Land Trust Executive Director Gregory Farmer sees the decision to sell the property as an opportunity to collaborate among like-minded organizations for the protection and conservation of “significant natural resources in perpetuity.” According to Farmer, the 668 acres has a high conservation value capable of building regional climate resiliency, as well as strengthening the tourism economy and improving the quality of life for both resident and visitors.

“The hillsides are entirely wooded, offering a tremendous amount of carbon capture. The infrastructure is fabulous, with hiking and biking trails,” Farmer said of the camp, which has not been open since the COVID-19 pandemic.

An information sheet distributed by Farmer and titled “Crumhorn Communities Hub” stated: Otsego County Conservation Association, Otsego Land Trust, and Otsego Rural Housing Assistance are proposing a multi-faceted project to create an environmental education center, develop a Community Resiliency and Resource Center, and assist underserved community members with health, safety, and energy efficiency repairs on their homes.”

According to the flier, OLT would develop a management plan to protect the natural resources of the property through a conservation easement in perpetuity.

Amy Wyant, Otsego County Conservation Association executive director, said that her organization hopes to run the environmental education center, stating, “We want to teach people to become stewards, to implement clean energy and green energy.” Wyant reeled off an ambitious laundry list of services to be offered to the community: heating and cooling emergency center, senior programming with transportation, full-time day camps, youth programs, and the creation of both summer and full-time jobs. Wyant also proposed a BSA reunion to “honor BSA history and the donors who made this place possible.”

Otsego Rural Housing Assistance Executive Director Bridget Stith also saw possibilities for the camp property.

“The property has buildings ideal for work force development—a place to train a new generation of contractors. We hope to move a work force into the community for repair and maintenance,” Stith said, alluding to the large number of vintage homes in the county, many built before 1930.

Congressman Marc Molinaro’s Community Project request for $2 million for Crumhorn was recently approved by the House Appropriations Committee, but still needs to navigate through the rest of the federal budget process. Elected in 2022, Molinaro said he had secured $27.6 million for district 19 in 2023 and $32.3 million for 2024. He spoke with obvious pride about his record in land conservation. During his 2011 to 2019 tenure as county executive, Duchess County became the second county in the state to establish an open space protection program, he said.

“I had the county work with towns, villages, and cities to identify open space and green space worth protecting. We partnered with the local land trust and preserved 8,500 acres,” the congressman said.

Molinaro pointed out to attendees that the U.S. Department of State sometimes provides shoreline funding and the USDA may be of assistance to ORHA.

Senator Oberacker, who calls Schenevus home and served on the Otsego County Board of Representatives from 2016-2020, said that he had spent “many days” at the camp during the summers of 1974 and 1975.

“I can’t think of a better use to preserve what I enjoyed,” he said of the Crumhorn Communities Hub project.

Assuming a self-effacing presence at the gathering, Oberacker said he had come “to listen to concerns and questions.” He also stated that he was “working quietly behind the scenes.”

Oberacker offered a word of advice to parties seeking funding.

“Don’t get discouraged working with state agencies. Albany’s sprint is like a caterpillar going across a window sill,” he said.