Says Boy Scouts have raped land, left animals homeless

Dear Editor:

I have always held the Boy Scouts of America in high regard and until recently believed them to be a noble institution that tried to instill good and proper values in the young men and boys in their ranks.

My opinion of the Scouts has changed dramatically since they became my neighbor. A few years ago, my neighbor, Mr. Connelly Clark, passed away, leaving a sizeable amount (several hundred acres) of forest land to the Scouts. We were happy to see this because we were under the impression that the Boy Scouts would do their best to conserve and preserve this beautiful hardwood forest and wildlife habitat. We have been rudely awakened by the sad fact that the Palmetto Council is intent on senseless environmental destruction. I seriously doubt that this was Mr. Clark's intent in donating this land to the Scouts. I think that his intent was like ours - preservation and responsible land management.

I cannot imagine what purpose the Boy Scouts of America have in the rape and pillage of land that was once pristine forests, other than pure financial gain. It behooves all supporters of Scouting to follow this money trail and see who is reaping the benefits of their timber sales.

Day after day we watch as 100-plus-yearold trees are downed and trucked away, leaving an unsightly cutover mess. Is this the lesson that Scouting teaches?

I urge anyone who supports Scouting to question the motive behind this senseless environmental destruction and I hope that before anyone thinks of supporting the Boy Scouts that you remember what they have done as my neighbor. Thanks to the Boy Scouts, countless deer, turkeys, raccoons, owls and coyotes don't have a place to sleep tonight. Sincerely, Robin Alexander Gaffney, SC