Oldest Operating Boy Scout Camp Still Fighting for Its Life

Embattled Blue Lake Township (Michigan) officials have begun soliciting donations to a legal defense fund to enable them to continue the legal fight over the Owasippe Boy Scout Reservation property. The $100,000 covered by the township insurance has been depleted in a long battle to preserve the camp. The Chicago Area Council is determined to sell the property for development. A bench trial scheduled for August 2007 has now been postponed to October.

Boy Scout Camp Owasippe was founded in 1911. It is located on 4,765 acres (about 7 square miles) in Blue Lake Township of Muskegon County, Michigan, and belongs to the Chicago Area Scout Council (CAC). Owasippe is the oldest operating Boy Scout Camp in the United States, and is in the middle of its 96th season of serving campers and families. Camp use continues to increase, despite claims by the CAC that the camp is declining.

The camp is located on one of the largest undeveloped tracts of land in southwest Michigan. It is a largely natural area that is home to three lakes, a trout stream, rare oak-pine savannas and more than 1000 species of animals and insects, including several threatened and endangered species

However, the Council has been trying for several years to sell parts or all of the camp land, claiming that it no longer serves the needs of Scouters. They have agreed to an offer of $19.4 million dollars from Benjamin Smith III, a banker from Holland, Michigan. But in order for the sale to go through the property must be rezoned. The Council originally requested that the township rezone the land to allow for 1278 homes. The request had the potential to more than double the population of the township, which has no municipal sewer or water service and has an on-call fire department. It would most likely require extensive road improvements.

Frontline Scouter volunteers have fought back, citing increased use of the camp, the unique ecosystem, and tradition. Clearly, the Scout families and volunteer leaders do not want Owasippe closed or altered as they have been continually satisfied with its program offerings and the ecologically pristine venue within which it operates. Save Owasippe Rallies have been held, petitions signed, and letters submitted in their ongoing preservation effort. They also have won a court battle in which they accused the council of illegal proceedings.

On January 14, 2006 a public hearing was held in Blue Lake Township when over 400 people attended and loudly proclaimed: "Save the camp!" March 15 of that year, the township board voted 5-0 to retain the zoning as camping and recreational, and this decision was upheld by the Muskegon County Planning Commission.

In May 2006 the CAC filed a lawsuit against Blue Lake Township claiming the officials have violated the state and U.S. constitutions by illegally blocking development of the property and denying the Council their civil rights. The CAC sued to claim damages of $5000/ day for lost income from the inability to sell the property.

Meanwhile, The Owasippe Outdoor Education Center (OOEC), was founded to market Owasippe as a year-round outdoor education facility. This would perserve the camp for Scouts, and would enhance its use for the general public during the Scout Camps' "off season," typically late August through early June. In early 2007 the OOEC submitted an letter of intent to buy the camp from the Chicago Area Council. However, the CAC claims that its contract with Smith prevents them from accepting , and has repeatedly declined the offer from OOEC. The problem remains thorny, since Smith's contract is contingent on the rezoning, which is unlikely to occur. The OOEC purchase would not require rezoning since it preserves the uses for which the land is currently zoned.

Court ordered mediation has failed to produce any resolution of the matter. The courts will now decide the fate of Owasippe.

In the words of one saddened and outraged Scouter. "Do not ruin the jewel of western Michigan. Let's still have this natural wonder in Western Michigan, for our grandchildren, long after all the sellers and buyers are dead and buried. " (Bill Schaefer, quoted from the Scarlet Sassafras newsletter, February 2006)

Sources: the Scarlet Sassafras Newsletter (various editions 2006, 2007) created to inform readers about the health and well-being of Camp Owasippe, personal communication with Ron Kulak, Scarlet Sassafras editor

Author: Joan H. Young
Headline: Oldest Operating Boy Scout Camp Still Fighting for its Life