Eagle Island Camp won't open this summer

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June 26, 2009

[-BULLET-] Summer events canceled; safety cited as primary reason

By KIM SMITH DEDAM The Press Republican Fri May 14, 2010, 08:09 PM EDT

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HARRIETSTOWN — Eagle Island Camp, a Girl Scout camp on its own island in Upper Saranac Lake, is closed this summer.

The camp's special Work Weekend/Women's Weekend, scheduled for June 19 to 21, and Family Camp events were all canceled.

Eagle Island had been used by Girl Scouts from New Jersey, not by troops from here in the North Country.

An announcement sent by the recently merged Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey Board of Directors said the reason for closure is "so that we can strengthen the camp's future programming and its physical condition."

NOTED ARCHITECT
The 32-acre complex was built as an Adirondack Great Camp in 1903 for Levi P. Morton, former vice president of the United States.

Eagle Island has been a Girl Scout camp since 1938.

The camp has 11 buildings designed by renowned Adirondack architect William Lincoln Coulter, whose signature works include Knollwood Club and the now-demolished Wawbeek.

It was named a National Historic Landmark Aug. 18, 2004.

The New York State Office of Historic Preservation documented the property, saying it remains one of the most intact examples of Coulter's work.

"Eagle Island Camp may well represent the finest extant rustic camp conceived by one of the pre-eminent architects working in this idiom," according to Historic Preservation records.

"The complex survives with a considerable level of physical integrity considering its continued use as a summer camp."

SAFETY ISSUES
Susan Brooks, chief executive officer of the Heart of New Jersey Girl Scout Council, which owns the island, did not return several phone calls requesting comment.

But an announcement from the Council Board of Directors posted on the Eagle Island Camp Facebook site claimed safety concerns as a primary reason for closing the camp this summer.

"After the spring thaw in mid-April, when general access to the island was available, we were able to take a strong look at EIC. Based upon the harsh winters it has endured, there were safety and infrastructure concerns identified; we chose to address those concerns this summer."

POWER PROBLEMS
Responding to concerns from Friends of Eagle Island Camp, a group formed of camp alumnae dedicated to fundraising and property upkeep, council directors said a tree fell on the camp's power line, leaving the place without electricity.

"In the past, the property manager would have had the tree removed, repaired the power line and restrung it," directors explained.

"As the new council, we did not feel comfortable with this method. We decided to call in two electrical contractors to bid on the job. Both of them refused to provide a bid or do the work until a licensed electrical inspector conducted an inspection.

"We brought the inspector on the island, who found many items that needed repair. The extent of the repairs needed caused us to be concerned about the safety of the Work Weekend attendees and the camp itself."

Alumnae questioned why the council opened Eagle Island in previous years with "this many problems."

"The newly merged council has its own set of criteria against which camps are evaluated on the areas of physical infrastructure and safety," the council said.

'HEARTBREAKING'
Christine Hildebrand, a founding member of the alumnae group, said in a phone interview this week that the closure "was heartbreaking to us."

Hundreds of letters from former campers have been sent to the New Jersey Council urging them to preserve the site and wilderness programs at Eagle Island Camp, she said.

The New Jersey Council told alumnae it has no plan to sell the property.

"The council has made no long-term property decisions."

The New Jersey Council hired a new property manager to live and work full time on the island after the caretaker of 30 years retired when the councils merged.

E-mail Kim Smith Dedam at: kdedam@pressrepublican.com