In 2021, Girl Scouts of the Nation's Capital (GSCNC) (the council for the D.C., northern VA, and southern MD area) sold 633 acres of mature forest to developers to cover costs they supposedly can't pay due to lack of funding and lower retail sales.

When they were selling the forest, they got two bids to buy this piece of thriving land. One from the Maryland Park & Planning Commission - who were willing to pay $11 million (which is more than the original $10 million GSCNC asked for) to conserve this forest for the communities nearby and to protect the species of environmental concern. The other offer came from a group of developers who offered around $30 million. GSCNC went with the offer from developers - for more money and to keep the GSCNC business around for the next "110 years". Will this be a Girl Scouts we can be proud of?

Girl Scouts is about caring for each other and the places we call home. How can they say this when they are actively destroying the foundations that keep us alive? Not only will destroying this forest be burdensome (with difficult terrain to break) it will also impact the already underserved communities living nearby. In addition, it will lock in more deforestation for Prince George County, Maryland, the place that has lost the most forest in the whole state. 

Scientists from NASA underline the 30x30 rule: we need to conserve 30% of our natural landscape (forest) by 2030 in order to have a habitable planet that can survive the effects of climate change. 

The Girl Scout motto is "Leave No Trace". Destroying 633 acres of mature forest, a forest that is hundreds of years old and is a thriving ecosystem (with endangered plants and animals), and one that serves as a buffer zone against effects of climate change (flooding & drought), would definitely be leaving a trace - a big trace on the land. 

Sign this petition to tell GSCNC leaders to cancel the contract, accept the bid to conserve the forest, and keep this natural wonder around for generations of Girl Scouts to come.