Friday, January 30, 2009

Boy Scouts dispose of land holdings

From the Houston Chronicle

The last large stand of woods in a Seattle suburb. A unique desert canyon just outside of Los Angeles. Rangelands deep in the heart of Texas. All are set to be felled, filled and bulldozed so that stately homes, a sprawling reservoir and perhaps even a massive hydroelectric dam may one day rise in their place. Aside from their still unspoiled settings, the lands share another common bond: The Boy Scouts of America sold them for development. From Arizona to Virginia, New York to Washington, senior housing complexes, retail offices, even a casino’s golf course have risen in place of timberlands and green spaces where boys once learned about nature. Over the past 20 years, local Boy Scouts administrations across America have reaped tens of millions of dollars from selling decades-old campgrounds and other properties.

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