Crumhorn Conservation
As featured in the Freeman’s Journal, Thursday March 7, 2024
COOPERSTOWN, NY – Imagine an outdoor education center with miles of forested trails, lakefront access for canoes and kayaks, and programs for families and children throughout the year. That’s the vision that Otsego Land Trust has for reuse of the former BSA Camp Henderson property on Crumhorn Mountain in Milford.
Otsego Land Trust has been the lead advocate for protecting the undeveloped property and promoting its conservation as a community resource. Last year, a group of Crumhorn neighbors alerted Senator Peter Oberacker and Senator Peter Harckham that the camp was for sale. A postcard campaign launched by Otsego Land Trust called on the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to utilize a portion of the state’s Environmental Bond Act to protect the property in perpetuity.
The Crumhorn property is one of the largest undeveloped tracts of land in Otsego County, bordered by the Susquehanna State Forest on one side and Crumhorn Lake on the other. The two state agencies have expressed strong interest in acquiring the former camp as a state forest and a state park, if an agreement can be reached with the Leatherstocking Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
Area residents have fond memories of summers spent at Camp Henderson when it was managed by the old Otschodela Council of the Boy Scouts of America. A general decline in camp enrollment has led the Boy Scouts to close and sell many of the former camps. Since the Leatherstocking Council of Boy Scouts of America (BSA) placed the 666-acre property up for sale with an asking price of $6.9 million, people throughout the Otsego region have been concerned about the property’s future.
“The Crumhorn property would be a superb outdoor education center,” according to Gregory Farmer, Executive Director at Otsego Land Trust. “It would create recreational opportunities in an underserved region and provide direct economic benefits.”
“Public interest is the key to conserving the site,” says Farmer. “The state will require a full title abstract, a detailed property survey, and an environmental assessment before they can move forward with acquisition. We are calling on local residents and former scouts to visit our website (www.otsegolandtrust.org) to voice their support and contribute to the project.”
Otsego Land Trust is a community-based nonprofit organization that works with landowners and partners to conserve farmland, forests, and wetlands in the Upper Susquehanna region. The Land Trust manages 300 acres of land for public access, including the Brookwood Point Conservation Area on Otsego Lake and Deowongo Island on Canadarago Lake. Otsego Land Trust protects more than 12,000 acres of private land through conservation easements in perpetuity.
For questions, contact Gregory Farmer gfarmer@otsegolandtrust.org.