MILTON — Extra than 200 acres of Camp Boyhaven, the shuttered Boy Scout camp that was the centre of a heated town discussion in 2018, has been purchased by the point out.
The Section of Environmental Conservation bought 219 of its 300 acres to add to its Center Grove State Forest for $710,000 from builder and conservationist John Munter, who rescued the property after city officers killed an agreement to buy it from the Twin Rivers Council of the Boy Scouts of The usa.
The buy, introduced Friday, was funded by the state’s Environmental Defense Fund and expands the condition Reforestation Region, thus protecting the forest watershed, timber output and general public recreation, state officers said. It will also maintain wildlife habitat, guidance ecosystem overall health and provide an outdoor classroom for landowners, forest experts and guests.
“Improving the health of our forests is critical for safeguarding water excellent, habitat and alternatives for recreation. Healthy forests are also a device in the struggle versus local climate transform,” DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said. “Thanks to the commitment of DEC’s conservation partners, people and readers to the Money Region will have the possibility to see to start with-hand the improvement of a healthy managed forest in Saratoga County, as properly as the advantages it delivers.”
The acquire also returns the land to the state tax rolls, something it was exempt from when it was a Boy Scout camp.
The Twin Rivers Council, which was unhappy with the town when it selected not to abide by by with a invest in settlement, is happy with the end result.
“The Twin Rivers Council believes this new sale is a superb consequence as it retains a portion of the primary residence intact as a youth summer season camp and the the greater part of the assets as inexperienced room for public recreation,” Scout Govt Mark Switzer stated. “That was our initial intent with the town of Milton, and thankfully Mr. Munter’s invest in from the Boy Scouts of The us eventually authorized for it to come about. Each the DEC and Mr. Munter have been incredibly good companions with the Boy Scouts of The usa.”
The century-outdated Camp Boyhaven was a single of the longest working Boy Scout camps in the condition, serving Scouts from the bigger Capital Location. Camp Boyhaven was also the premier undeveloped open up area in Milton.
The city was all established to order the land less than Supervisor Dan Lewza. But the strategy faltered soon after Supervisor Scott Ostrander balked, primary an nameless donor, who was providing the town $500,000, 50 percent of the money for the obtain, to back again out of the offer.
Fearing the land would go to a developer, Munter stepped in to order the camp, forest and lakes for $1 million. He before long marketed 70 acres to the nonprofit Camp Stomping Grounds, which employs the portion of the Boy Scout camp that stays intact.
Beneath Munter, the land also presented forest ecology and silviculture logger schooling classes and provided foresters a position to study about white pine needle disorder.
In preparation for the acquisition, DEC partnered with Audubon New York, Cash Area Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Administration, the seller’s private foresters and the landowner to mark a timber harvest on the property and eliminate invasive crops from the web-site. The ensuing forest, DEC officials explained, increases fowl habitat, manages white pine wellbeing issues and serves as a demonstration forest for educators.