Help Save Camp Sunrise!

Submitted by theorwellbugler t3_zkxhis in vermont

This morning, VTDigger published an article about a big issue impacting Orwell, Benson, and the surrounding towns: the potential sale of Camp Sunrise to a private party, and the massive loss this would be to our community and the state as a whole.

Camp Sunrise is a 146 acre parcel abutting Sunrise and Sunset lakes in Benson and Orwell. The Boy Scouts have owned it for 100+ years and have allowed locals to use their shoreline to swim in Sunset Lake, which is one of the cleanest bodies of water in Vermont. Last year, the Boy Scouts offered to sell it to ANR, and after a year of looking into it ANR turned them down, citing high costs of maintenance (although their claims of high costs are easily shot down by digging into their numbers, including a $900,000 bathhouse where none currently exists or is needed).

Many non-profit agencies and even the technical staff at ANR were in favor of the purchase. It is our understanding that it was shot down at the highest levels.

If this land were to be sold to a private developer, it would be a massive blow to our state. There is a dam on this property that was recently downgraded to a “significant hazard potential dam,” because its failure would threaten an endangered species and significantly lower the water levels in Sunrise Lake. It would also end centuries of public access to the shoreline, increase the potential of a degradation of the water quality of Sunset Lake, and cut off the ability for future generations of Vermonters to be able to enjoy this unique property.

If you care about this issue, we ask that you please:

  1. Sign this petition to be sent to Governor Phil Scott: https://chng.it/gSf2FRmDCf
  2. Contact Governor Phil Scott’s office via email and let him know why you think he should reverse ANR’s decision not to buy the camp: https://vermont.force.com/vermontce/s/governor-office-ce
  3. Share this article and the information above far and wide. This isn’t just a local issue, it’s a statewide issue about access to clean water, saving endangered species, and the health and strength of our communities.
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Comments

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RoyalIndependence500 t1_j03ea8o wrote

How about contacting Vermont Land Trust, the Conservation Fund or Trust for Public Land and seeing if the town can work with them to create a community forest? This has happened a lot in Vermont!

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Dingo_2323 t1_j06lr27 wrote

A similar thing happened in CT. Deer Lake Scout Reservation, a 300 acre site was saved. The Community, a non-profit and the government, negotiated to buy and preserve 250 acres, leaving the remaining 50 acres to be developed sensibly. Might be worth looking into how they accomplished that.

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RoyalIndependence500 t1_j07calq wrote

Here in Vermont the Town would have to agree to buy the land after it was appraised. VLT or another land trust would agree to help fund the acquisition of the land for the town and they would get a conservation easement that would protect the property in perpetuity, even if the Town one day decided to sell the land, it would never be developed. The land trust may ask the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board to fund part of the cost as well, and they would co-own the conservation easement. This all takes time, but it is how dozens of town forests have been established in this state and the process is very well established. It would surprise me if this hasn’t been looked into at this point.

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Unique-Public-8594 t1_j024hst wrote

It was in failed negotiations with the ANR. How about the local Conservation Commission buying it?

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United_Sky_2205 t1_j029u8n wrote

Have there been any discussions with the Preservation Trust of Vermont? They are very active in preserving open space and important structures / buildings etc across the state.

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whaletacochamp t1_j02903b wrote

Uh oh that would make a heck of a waterskiing center for Sarah George. Hide your floaties.

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syphax t1_j056s50 wrote

This is nice land, and offers swimming in an area that actually doesn't have many such options (no one's swimming in the Lemon Fair River), and serves a non-affluent community.

Failing state support, I really hope that the Boy Scouts find a mission-driven buyer to purchase the land, or that local groups will be able to cobble together funds to purchase the property. It'd be a real loss if it gets McMansioned.

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HappilyhiketheHump t1_j02vmg4 wrote

Remove the legacy dam and let nature and the beavers do their thing.

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MarkVII88 t1_j02bwj1 wrote

Boy Scouts selling the property to pay for sex abuse settlements?

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naidim t1_j06e5mv wrote

They stated they are contributing to the settlements, but this is not related.

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EscapedAlcatraz t1_j06fu0g wrote

From the article: Across the country, local chapters of Boy Scouts of America are selling land to pay for $2.46 billion in settlements resulting from a lawsuit that involved the alleged sexual abuse of more than 80,000 former scouts. 

https://www.npr.org/2022/06/04/1103083504/boy-scouts-land-sales-bankruptcy

I don't believe for a minute that there were 80,000 Scouts molested. This is the root cause issue, the financial settlements are bankrupting the organization and impacting local communities. What did we think would happen?

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cpujockey t1_j07m3ih wrote

why not turn the land into public housing?

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