Five of 12 Boy Scout camps in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula will be closed in 2016.
Michigan Crossroads Council, the group that oversees the Boy Scouts, says the cost of maintaining the camps is too high and that the camps are underused.
“Many of the camps that are on this list to close were getting utilized at like 8% of the time,” says Frank Reigelman, director of outdoor adventures for Michigan Crossroads Council.
Teetonkah in Jackson County, Kiwanis near Lansing, Northwoods Scout Reservation in Ogemaw County, Greilick near Traverse City, and Tapico in Kalkaska County will all be closed in 2016.
Reigelman says this is the culmination of several years of studying and analyzing the camps and the costs of operating them.
“There is a lot of sadness because people are very attached to these properties,” says Reigelman.
He hopes the camps will be maintained as natural spaces where people can still go camping.
This follows the closing of four Boy Scout camps in 2012.
