TimMiller

I was the BSA District Executive for both the Cheyenne and Laramie Districts way back in 1981-1982. At that time, Warren Holm was the Scout Executive for the Longs Peak Council residing in Greeley, Colorado. Sometime in 1981, Warren made the decision to *not* renew the $99/year annual lease on Camp Chimney Park as he wanted Scouts to focus their camping efforts on the Ben Delatour Scout Ranch near Red Feather Lakes, Colorado. A lot of Cheyenne and Laramie Scouters were not happy about Warren's decision, so they put together a group of Wyoming Scouting supporters who paid the annual lease payment directly to the Forest Service to preserve the camp. I do remember that Warren Holm said the Wyoming Scouters could not do this because the money had to come directly from LPC or else the lease agreement and BSA insurance coverage would become null and void. Even though some Scouters said they would gladly donate to the SME program *if* their money was used to pay the lease for Chimney Park, Warren said SME money could not be allocated or dedicated to a specific cause. I was truly dismayed by the amount of efforts that were taken to avoid making that annual $99 payment. I resigned from the BSA and returned to the University of Wyoming in 1982. I subsequently moved away from Wyoming in 1984, so I lost track of this lease arrangement at that point in time. I wish I could share more with you than that, but it's been 40 years and a lot has happened since then.