Nantucket Boy Scouts Back Out Of Deal For Conservation Restriction On Camp Richard

Camp Richard, the 100-acre Boy Scouts campground in the State Forest, is once again at the center of a dispute. But this time, it’s the two parties that forged an unlikely alliance to save Camp Richard from development that are at odds over its future.

The Nantucket Boy Scouts have backed out of their agreement to place a permanent conservation restriction on Camp Richard, according to the Nantucket Land Council, the non-profit group that would have held and enforced the restriction.

“The Land Council is, frankly, heartbroken over this,” said the organization’s executive director Emily Molden.

During the protracted legal battle over Camp Richard in the 2010s – when the Cape Cod and Islands Council of the Boy Scouts of America attempted to assert ownership over the campground and sell a portion of it to a developer - the Nantucket Land Council took up the fight on behalf of the Nantucket Boy Scouts and the Nantucket Civic League. The Land Council launched a fundraising campaign and spent roughly $450,000 on a legal challenge that ultimately ended in victory. A Barnstable Superior Court judge ruled that the Camp Richard Campers Association – made up of Nantucket Boy Scout leaders – was the rightful owner of the campground.

At the outset of the dispute with the Cape Cod and Islands Council, the Nantucket Land Council and the Camp Richard Association recorded a formal option to protect the 100-acre campground through a conservation restriction, with the Land Council offering a financial contribution of $1.5 million to the island scouting group. That formal option, however, was later rescinded by the Barnstable Superior Court Judge Gary Nickerson who ruled that it violated the injunction he had granted at the start of the legal challenge. The Land Council says it then proceeded with its representation in the court case under a “handshake” agreement with the Camp Richard Campers Association, with the understanding that it would enter into a conservation restriction for the campground following the successful conclusion of the case.

But that’s not what happened.

Following a recent split vote of the Camp Richard Campers Association members to not come to the table for further discussions on a conservation restriction, the Nantucket Land Council is going public with its grievance. The Boy Scouts, the Land Council said, “refuse to keep their promise to protect Camp Richard.”

Chuck Lenhart, the president of the Camp Richard Campers Association, declined to comment on Tuesday, as did past president Bob Graves. The Land Council, on the other hand, had plenty to say.

“We have made proposal after proposal, trying to work with the local scouts, to tailor a restriction that will allow their historic use of the property, allow future uses as their needs may change, and get them substantial funds, while protecting the significant conservation values of the site,” Molden said. “We always viewed our agreement as a ‘win-win’ for the local boy scouts and for the island. The agreement as contemplated would not interfere with their use of the site, and it would protect invaluable and rare open space habitat while getting the local scouts a substantial endowment. Unfortunately, they just won’t work with us.”

Camp Richard was given to the island’s Boy Scouts decades ago by the Nantucket Civic League in a series of land transfers beginning in 1955. The gift came with just one string attached: If the campground ever ceased to be used by the Boy Scouts, its ownership would revert back to the Civic League. That reverter clause – which stipulates that the campground must always be used for “scouting purposes” - was at the center of the legal battle with the Cape and Islands Council of the Boy Scouts, and was upheld by Judge Nickerson. With that clause in effect, there is still a mechanism in place to protect Camp Richard from development. But the Land Council remains concerned how “scouting purposes” could be interpreted by future leaders of the Camp Richard Campers Association.

“We are sorry to have this partnership, that worked together so successfully to achieve a common goal, fall apart for no apparent reason,” said Lucy Dillon, the president of the Land Council’s board. “All we are asking is for them to work with us to protect portions of the property in a way that preserves their future use, as they agreed to. It can be done in a way that benefits the CRCA, the NLC and the entire island community. It’s just so sad to see an organization that purports to teach honesty and trust to our youth acting this way.”

The proposed conservation restriction would continue to allow normal scouting activities on the site - things like hiking trails, primitive campsites, ropes courses, and archery - but would prevent development and other changes to the campground. Molden said when the scout leaders initially balked at the restriction on the entire property, the Land Council offered a similar deal for roughly 60 acres of the property, leaving 40 acres unrestricted. But that offer was also rebuffed. 

The discussions over the conservation restriction began as early as 2018 following the conclusion of the court case. They were put on pause for more than a year at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the recent developments finally prompted the Land Council to talk publicly about the situation. Despite the recent vote of the Camp Richard Campers Association, Molden said she is hopeful a resolution can still be salvaged.

“I am still hoping that we can sit down with the CRCA board and find a resolution that not only honors our agreement, but is mutually beneficial to the present and future scouting community, the NLC, and the island,” Molden said. “The door is still open, but we need the board to indicate a willingness to work with us.”

Disclosure: the author's 7-year-old son participates in the Nantucket Boy Scouts program, but the author is not part of the Camp Richard Campers Association or the Nantucket Boy Scouts leadership.