State to acquire prized land in Finger Lakes

[hikingandwildex]

https://www.fltimes.com/news/state-agrees-to-buy-boy-scout-camp-barton-in-covert/article_aec5426b-54bd-5d5e-9f89-7cfb2e9387e2.html

COVERT — The state Department of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation has signed a purchase agreement with Baden-Powell Council of the Boy Scouts of America to buy nearly 100 acres of Camp Barton in this Seneca County town.

The Binghamton-based Council decided to sell Camp Barton to pay its $1.4 million share of lawsuit settlements against BSA. The nationwide litigation is the result of sexual abuse of boys by Scout leaders.

The sale price and other details are being negotiated, according to Matthew Bull, CEO of Baden-Powell Council.

“Camp Barton has not been sold, but our Council has a signed purchase agreement with the state Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to buy it,” Bull reported. “The price is being negotiated, and we should be able to release that in a month or two.”

This will be an excellent addition to New York's state park system when the acquisition is finalized. Camp Barton is located on Cayuga Lake, the second-largest Finger Lake, and features an impressive 95-foot waterfall (Frontenac Falls). It's located next to the famous Taughannock Falls, close enough that it could be incorporated into the state park bearing its name.

[Banjoe]

This is indeed a wonderful acquisition that has shown what can be done when multiple agencies team together. It has involved two towns, a village, the state, and the Finger Lakes Land Trust. The development along the shoreline here has been intense, and this could have become another multi-million dollar estate and made these falls and the shoreline private. Paired with the Land Trust acquiring about a half-mile of shoreline a few miles north of this, on the other side of the lake, public access has gotten a great boost in the last year.
Let's hope the towns and state can figure out what to do with all the buildings (lodge and cabins) that also benefit the public.
Here is a photo of the falls further upstream, and another view of the falls shown in the previous post.
b.jpg
bbbb.jpg

[BillyGr]

This is indeed a wonderful acquisition that has shown what can be done when multiple agencies team together. It has involved two towns, a village, the state, and the Finger Lakes Land Trust. The development along the shoreline here has been intense, and this could have become another multi-million dollar estate and made these falls and the shoreline private. Paired with the Land Trust acquiring about a half-mile of shoreline a few miles north of this, on the other side of the lake, public access has gotten a great boost in the last year.

That is, assuming they are getting all of those - I don't know offhand how large the camp itself is (many of them, though, have a large piece of property beyond what is actually used for standard camping).
Only thinking because it says buying nearly 100 acres of Camp Barton, not that they are buying the entire property.

Unfortunate for the program that they have to sell them (and some councils have found ways to raise funds by keeping the property but leasing out some parts or times to others), but at least a good thing that it gets to be open to the public rather than getting developed into something else.

[hikingandwildex]

According to the BSA council's website, Camp Barton is nearly 130 acres. I have to imagine the waterfall and lakeshore area will be part of the acquired land.

https://www.bpcouncil.org/camping/campbarton/camp-barton-summer-camp/

[Banjoe]

Revisiting this thread with updates. While the state has signed a purchase agreement to buy 100 acres of the camp, 40 acres was sold to a neighboring property owner. That owner has built one of the largest private developments on the shore, but looking at maps that show property lines, I think the 40 acres is near the top of the hill, away from the lake and closer to the state highway. As for the three municipalities working together to run it as a park, the county that the property is in has thrown sand in the gears of the arrangement. No idea how this will proceed, but hopeful they will come to an agreement.

https://www.ithaca.com/news/regional_news/camp-barton-plan-tabled-again/article_084ee17a-df38-11ed-aaa7-9334a0180378.html

Almost directly across the lake: another great acquisition by the Finger Lakes Land Trust has added 243 acres to be preserved. I walked quite a bit of it this week and it is very similar to the Bell Station property to the north I mentioned in my earlier post, though I'm not certain this one goes all the way to the shoreline. There is an abandoned railroad along the shore and there are some private docks and shacks on the lake side of the tracks. Turning the railroad into a rail trail would be a dream as it could connect a town park that includes a marina, state land on the shore, and two Land Trust preserves consisting of 530 acres. It could happen, but I hope it doesn't take 40 years like the rail trail that connects Ithaca to Taughannock State Park.

https://www.fllt.org/cayugacliffs

[snapper]

Our old council, the Otschodela BSA Council, was forced to merge with the Utiva/Rome based council; and this was after we were told BSA wouldn't force us to merge if we weren't interested. Well, we weren't interested but within a year of being told we could continue to operate independently, we were forced to merge.

Anyway, due to BSA BS, the old camp, Camp Henderson, on Crumhorn Mt. is currently for sale. There is a local move afoot to have the state take it over and add it to one of the local state forests. It would be wonderful if that were to happen as the entire property has been closed off to the public for over a year now due to decisions made by people who should have never been in leadership positions to begin with.

Oh, by the way, our council had an endowment of about $7,000,000.00 which is why the Utica group wanted to merge with us. They were running deeply in the red and we were their bailout.

Can you tell this still PI$$ES me off?!?

Until next time...be well.

snapper