Girl Scouts cite cost, use for plan to shut 4 camps

Four of the eight Girl Scout camps in Arkansas will soon close because of the cost of running the camps, which have seen a decline in use, organization leaders said Friday.

"As dictated by our very law, it is irresponsible to allow resources to either be unrealized or to pose a financial burden on our council," said a letter from the Girl Scouts-Diamonds of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas board of directors to stakeholders.

Camp Kemp in Texarkana, which was established in 1960, and Camp Taloha in Pine Bluff, which was acquired by the Girl Scouts in 2010, will be closed or "rested" immediately, said Emily Gassman, a spokesman in Little Rock for Girl Scouts-Diamonds of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

Camp High Point in Mena, which was established in 1945, and Camp Noark in Huntsville, which opened in 1964, will close at the conclusion of residential camps this summer.

Camps in Booneville, Floral, Fort Smith and Hot Springs will remain open, Gassman said.

There are six Boy Scout camps in the state.

"This was a tough and emotional decision," Gassman said. "We looked at all of the camps. We had to address the inefficiency of the properties.

"We did not take this lightly."

According to the Girl Scouts-Diamonds of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas -- which oversees Girl Scouting activities in all but Crittenden County in Arkansas and activities in two Texas counties and three Oklahoma counties -- there are 10,000 girls enrolled in the Girl Scouts program. An average of fewer than 5 percent of the members attend residential camps yearly, Gassman said.

It costs about $500,000 yearly to maintain, insure and equip the eight camps, which range in size from 13 to 400 acres, Gassman said.

"Each camp is in need of major upgrades in order to bring it up to a level worthy of the Diamonds' standard of operation," the board of directors' letter said. "Girls deserve a high quality camp experience, and in our wilderness properties' current state, this is difficult to attain."

Gassman said directors evaluated each camp on a 30-point evaluation system that included usage, costs, marketability, property value and location.

"There were a lot of emotions surrounding these decisions," she said.

Gassman said directors will re-evaluate the four camps by Oct. 1 to determine if they should be reopened.

The closures saddened area Girl Scout leaders who have used the camps over the years.

"I feel really torn," said Kim Smith, a Girl Scout troop leader in Harrison who has visited Camp Noark in Huntsville both as a leader and when she was a Girl Scout. "I understand about the Girl Scout membership level dropping, but at the same time, there's not another Girl Scout property nearby. The closest one is more than 21/2 hours away.

"It's a real loss. The connection to camp is what keeps girls in Girl Scouts. Those experiences at camp are unique."

Smith said she may end up taking her Girl Scouts to public campsites; the nearest remaining Girl Scout camp is in Floral in Independence County, about 125 miles away.

Debbie Mitchell, a Girl Scout troop leader in Berryville, has taken her daughter to Camp Noark for 10 years.

"I had hoped to take my granddaughter someday, but I won't be able to," she said. "It is heartbreaking."

Mitchell said leaders were not notified that the Girl Scouts group was debating closing the four camps until the closures were announced.

"We never had an opportunity to save the property," she said. "There was no heads-up, no ability for us to try to save it."

Mitchell said she would have to travel more than three hours to a Girl Scout camp in Fort Smith or cross the Missouri state line and attend camp in Ozark, Mo., about an hour from Berryville.

"We will have to look at going outside the [Girl Scout] council and to another state," she said. "I understand the bottom line is money, but sometimes it's not always about the bottom line. The real line here is the girls."

State Desk on 02/27/2016

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