New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Madison resident sues Boy Scouts over Deer Lake
Suit claims sale of property to developer would threaten bird sanctuary
MADISON — A town resident is suing the Connecticut chapter of the Boy Scouts of America, arguing the prospective sale of the Connecticut Yankee Council’s Deer Lake property in Killingworth would imperil the natural resources of the area, contradicting the organization’s charitable mission.
The 255-acre Deer Lake property, a Scout camp, is home to the Richard English Bird Sanctuary. Birders regularly visit the sanctuary and it has become “part of the public trust in the environment of the state of Connecticut,” according to the lawsuit from David Stephenson.
In the suit, Stephenson notes he has a “deep appreciation for Connecticut’s divers and precious natural resources, including, among other things, wild and scenic open spaces and the myriad wildlife to which Connecticut is home.”
Stephenson argues the local chapter, known as the Connecticut Yankee Council, has an obligation under its charitable mission to provide for the “protection and stewardship of biological, ecological, and cultural resources of the camp property,” as described in the National Camp Accreditation Standards for the Boy Scouts of America.
But the potential decision to sell the property to Fortitude Capital LLC., a real estate company seeking to purchase it for $4.6 million, likely will imperil the bird sanctuary, Stephenson said.
The prospective sale agreement “contains no conservation restrictions or other provision for the maintenance of the Richard English Bird Sanctuary,” Stephenson said.
“Defendant’s failure to perform its obligations under its charitable mission, its non-profit charter and as steward of the Deer
Lake property threatens to cause the reasonable likelihood of unreasonable harm to natural resources of the State by the discontinuance of a charitably-established wildlife sanctuary and the general development of the Deer Lake property itself for non-charitable private uses in contravention to (state statute),” wrote New Haven-based attorney
Keith Ainsworth, representing Stephenson.
Stephenson is seeking a declaratory judgment that the Deer Lake property should be permanently preserved as a bird sanctuary.
The suit also seeks an order requiring any sale of the Deer Lake site to include “a deed or conservation restriction prohibiting any material alteration of the property inconsistent with its charitable use as a bird sanctuary,” as well as attorney fees and costs.
In April, according to past reporting, the Boy Scouts of America postponed the closure of bids for the site until May 1. State Attorney General William Tong previously stepped in to review legal questions raised regarding the sale of the camp.
The Connecticut Yankee Council had imposed a March 31 deadline to consider a “superior offer” to that of developer Margaret Streicker, CEO of Fortitude Capital, who previously had made an offer for $4.6 million on the 255-acre camp.
Scouts, former Scouts, parents, town officials, residents, environmental and conservation groups strongly advocated to keep Deer Lake as a camp or as “priceless green space,” since it was first put up for sale this past fall.
Officials with the Connecticut Yankee Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.