August 20th, 2004

Scout fund-raisers far from goal, but optomistic
By Dylan Thomas
Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO - Area Boy Scout supporters determined to raise $600,000 by September to transfer part of a northern Minnesota camp to the Department of Natural Resources are far short of their goal, but still hopeful.

With cash and pledges raised by the Commitment to Camping Campaign totaling around $100,000 - and only about $80,000 of that actual cash in the bank - campaign Chairman Loran Kaardal acknowledged there was plenty of ground to make up.

Still, Kaardal said, with more than a dozen fund-raising efforts under way and Scouting supporters determined to stave off development from Crosslake-area Camp Cuyuna, the lofty goal is still achievable.

The Twin Valley Council executive board decided in February to sell a 163-acre portion of the camp, appraised at about $1 million. The money would be used to reduce council debt and make desperately needed program improvements.

Many Scouting supporters, concerned the sale would place the camp's woodsy surroundings in danger, latched on to a plan to sell the parcel to the DNR for $1.5 million. However, the sale, through the DNR's Reinvest In Minnesota program, requires Scouts to come up with $600,000 in matching funds.

Kaardal's committee plans to do that through a variety of efforts, from seeking grants to selling items on eBay to contacting old Eagle Scouts for donations.

Council Executive Director Paul Wilkinson said the council let the committee attempt the fund raising not knowing what to expect. Wilkinson admitted some of the fund-raising goals, such as raising $150 from each family of the approximately 3,000 scouts in the council, may be far-fetched.

The council's yearly capital campaigns only bring in donations from about 40 percent of Scout families with the average donation around $50, he said.

"A lot of Cub Scouts have never been to Cuyuna, so why would their parents give $100?" Wilkinson asked.

Still, committee members are seeking donations from both within and without the Scouting family, in part by framing the sale as an environmental issue: wilderness versus development.

Committee member Mary Roy, who has two boys in Troop 54, has brought that message to local service groups, like the local Kiwanis and Rotary Club.

"One of the goals, one of the philosophies of the Boy Scouts is to preserve the environment," Roy said. "I would like to see Scout families and individuals step forward as stewards of that land."

Kaardal said he expects environmental groups to respond to that same message. Still, he expected many of their donations to be contingent on a sale to the DNR.

That's why Kaardal plans to come to the executive board in September with so many real and potential donations that, even if they fall short of the $600,000 goal, the council won't be able to turn back.

Wilkinson said next month was more of a soft deadline, anyway, a chance to see how things have progressed in the campaign. The "do or die date" is in November, he said.

Wilkinson said if the DNR plan fails, there are other options to explore. Those would not necessarily include development, as many fear, he said.

For example, Wilkinson said, selling the land to another youth camp is an option.

Kaardal, ever the optimist, said plan A was to sell the land to a developer, plan B was to work out an agreement with the DNR, and plan C will be to make plan B work.

Last Updated: August 21, 2004