MY TURN: Camp Easton, Safety first
First and foremost, Camp Easton is a privately owned property that can be done with at the discretion of the owners, which just happens to be the Inland Northwest Council of the Boy Scouts of America. While stunning, it is not there solely for anyone’s personal viewing pleasure. This is not the National Forest but a functioning operating Camp that earns revenue from the youth that attend it!
That being said, and having served as the Camp Easton chairman for many years in the past, the local Council has always maintained a Conservation and Forestry plan specific to all their Camps. These of course are prepared and maintained by accredited foresters with both short term and long-term plans. To suggest otherwise is insulting and to be honest infuriating.
One single wind event several years ago took down hundreds of trees at Camp Easton. No surprise, these trees fall indiscriminately. That means fire roads, parking lots, Scout camping areas, parade grounds, waterfront and structures are all at risk. If you have any doubts about the power of a falling tree, the recent fatal tragedy on Seltice Way should be a stark reminder. Allowing trees to fall as “nature intended” sounds ill-advised and, well, basically stupid for a Camp where young people are present. Just an FYI, there is no “old growth” on Camp Easton, but the older larger trees are much more susceptible to these events.
I feel that the Boy Scouts with the literally thousands of Eagle Scout and service projects carried out in our community have more than proven our commitment to the local environment. Camp Easton is both National and Internationally recognized as a premier Scout Camp and I can assure you its long-term survival is paramount to the hundreds of volunteers that make up the Boy Scouts locally.
If folks want Camp Easton to remain as is to satisfy their anti-development agenda, it needs to be maintained, sometimes aggressively, so that it is first and foremost safe. I suggest, park the drones and crack open the checkbook, that would go a lot further to preserving Camp Easton. I am a member of the Boy Scouts of America but not currently serving in any official capacity and views are my own.
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Mike Aagesen is a Dalton Gardens resident.