Demand the State of Vermont Save Camp Sunrise!
The Issue
Please help us save Camp Sunrise and maintain public, shoreline access for all by signing on to this open letter to Governor Phil Scott.
For more information on this issue, please see this link: https://vtdigger.org/2022/12/12/with-the-impending-sale-of-a-boy-scout-camp-concerns-surface-about-what-could-be-lost/
“Dear Governor Scott:
We, the undersigned, call upon you to reverse your administration’s recent decision to pass on the purchase of Camp Sunrise located in Benson and Orwell. We urge you to help keep our shoreline public, protect our natural environment, and expand access to the beautiful 146 acres of Camp Sunrise by immediately ordering the Agency of Natural Resources to enter into a contract to purchase the property from the Boy Scouts Green Mountain Council.
The sale of this land to a private party is a significant threat to our communities and the environment. There is a dam that is located on the property that was recently downgraded to a “Significant Hazard Potential Dam” because its failure would threaten an endangered species and significantly reduce the water levels on Sunrise Lake. In addition, development of this land by a private owner would threaten the water quality of Sunset Lake, which was designated as the only “priority lake for protection” in the draft 2022 South Lake Champlain Tactical Basin Plan, where it was given an A(1) water quality classification by the Agency of Natural Resources.
Sunset Lake is a critical recreational resource for the surrounding rural, low-income, and agricultural communities. Swimmers, boaters, and anglers have enjoyed its clean waters for generations.
If this property were to pass into private hands, our communities would lose one of the only clean places to swim in the region. It could also put the fate of an endangered species in the hands of a private developer.
Please help us protect this treasured natural resource by immediately reversing this decision and ordering the Agency of Natural Resources to enter into a contract to purchase the property.
Thank you.”
1,227
The Issue
Please help us save Camp Sunrise and maintain public, shoreline access for all by signing on to this open letter to Governor Phil Scott.
For more information on this issue, please see this link: https://vtdigger.org/2022/12/12/with-the-impending-sale-of-a-boy-scout-camp-concerns-surface-about-what-could-be-lost/
“Dear Governor Scott:
We, the undersigned, call upon you to reverse your administration’s recent decision to pass on the purchase of Camp Sunrise located in Benson and Orwell. We urge you to help keep our shoreline public, protect our natural environment, and expand access to the beautiful 146 acres of Camp Sunrise by immediately ordering the Agency of Natural Resources to enter into a contract to purchase the property from the Boy Scouts Green Mountain Council.
The sale of this land to a private party is a significant threat to our communities and the environment. There is a dam that is located on the property that was recently downgraded to a “Significant Hazard Potential Dam” because its failure would threaten an endangered species and significantly reduce the water levels on Sunrise Lake. In addition, development of this land by a private owner would threaten the water quality of Sunset Lake, which was designated as the only “priority lake for protection” in the draft 2022 South Lake Champlain Tactical Basin Plan, where it was given an A(1) water quality classification by the Agency of Natural Resources.
Sunset Lake is a critical recreational resource for the surrounding rural, low-income, and agricultural communities. Swimmers, boaters, and anglers have enjoyed its clean waters for generations.
If this property were to pass into private hands, our communities would lose one of the only clean places to swim in the region. It could also put the fate of an endangered species in the hands of a private developer.
Please help us protect this treasured natural resource by immediately reversing this decision and ordering the Agency of Natural Resources to enter into a contract to purchase the property.
Thank you.”
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Petition created on December 13, 2022