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Another Beautiful Council-Owned Property For Sale


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I am saddened that a beautiful camp will likely be sold in WI. Apparently, the cost to maintain it exceeds the revenue coming in from Scouts, or lack thereof, who use the property throughout the year. It's far from the bulk of the council's units but provides a rugged feel, like you are in the middle of nowhere. There are beaver lodges, eagle aeries, and countless natural features that you don't find in a developed camp. I guess the downside is that people just don't commit to driving an extra 30 minutes to get there...

 

We read about camps being sold off but it really doesn't hit you until it's one you call home. :(

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Woodman Center near Richland Center, WI.

 

My Troop has had a tradition of going there every fall for the past several years. We were going to go last weekend but the new patrol of young Scouts opted not to go. They'll be sorry--or maybe they don't care--if this camp is sold and they don't get the chance to use it again.

 

The council hosts a backpacking-themed camporee there every spring and I reckon that's the bulk of the usage the camp got over the years. I just makes me sad.

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It is always a matter of promotion. If the folks at Council don't make the effort to get better use out of the property, then the fault is not that Scouts aren't using it, it is that it isn't being used by .... anyone...

 

So you market it to historians (any archeological history there?), to schools (university "Outdoor Clubs"), private outfitters, public schools for their "Outdoor Ed" classes, Merit Badge classes, receptions & meetings (is the dining hall catering capable?), TV and movie producers for background, environmental study people, get publicity, get District Camporees, get Woodbadge courses, church retreats, First Aid classes. Federal and State emergency practices, ROTC and Civil Air Patrol are always looking for places to practice their outdoorsy stuff. And pay for the privilege.

Re-think the summer camp program: is there room for a mini High Adventure program? Up in WI, Canadien Voyageur or some such. Mountain Man theme? Even selective logging can be remunerative . I know a Girl Scout camp in Indiana that does just that. Uses the logging to clear areas for new cabins and activity fields, then let the other areas lay "fallow" for 20 or 30 years. It is in their plans.

All this needs promotion, PR, oversight and direction.

Or is the SE only concerned with the here and now, rather than the there and later?

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Hi SS,

 

Yeah, I kind of think it's a done deal. There were many camporees and other Scouting events there but, as I said before, it is farther away that most people want to drive for a wilderness experience. It's upsetting and sad to me but, alas, it's out of my hands at this point.

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I understand your agony. If I knew that scout camps were being created elsewhere I'd say oh well, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

 

Our council took a camp and put it in a conservation reserve. That means they got paid a bunch of money and signed a contract that said the land can't be developed by them or anyone they might sell it to. So it's now worthless to anyone that wants to develop it and there's less of a chance for anyone to want to sell it.

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