Camp Tadma has hosted youth development outdoor programs for campers ages 5 to 21 since 1947. The camp is now up for auction by the Connecticut Rivers Council.  The Council should sell it to a scouting unit before considering another buyer in order to avoid losing a camp to an independent owner or developer, putting the environment at risk of destruction, and to live up to its published mission statement: "to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout oath and law."  

We propose that the council remain in line with its mission and instead sell the property to an independent scouting unit at a fair market value along with the condition that scouting units may use the property indefinitely in the same capacities they have since it has been a camp.  It is not uncommon for a unit to own a campground.  This will not only save an environment and local wildlife from development, but it creates opportunities for all youth, both in and out of scouting, and other groups to use the property as an environmental classroom.  If sold to a scouting unit under these provisions, the council's mission will be realized.  If auctioned to the highest bidder, the council and its governing board would be acting against the best interest of the council members, and fail to make the ethical and moral decision surrounding the sale of the property, effectively setting income as a higher priority than the children and the program.  

By signing this petition you are saving an entire 340 acres of land from development, encouraging a non-profit organization to stay true to its mission, and supporting the retention of an environmental haven where youth of all ages can come to challenge themselves, learn new skills, and form lifelong friendships, which will all make for a better tomorrow.  

Take a look for more details: www.camptadma.org