![The sign out front for the Sand Hill Scout Reservation. [Credit: Austyn Szempruch]](https://www.hernandosun.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Untitled-5.jpg "Untitled (5)")
It’s remarkable how words can inspire confidence, shape identities, and become more than just sounds or letters. Words like trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent have been guiding principles for millions in the Boy Scouts organization, including myself. These values, rooted in the Scout Law, have played a pivotal role in shaping me into the man I am today.
However, it is disheartening to see how these values seem to have lost their meaning in the minds, character, and decision-making of the leadership within the Greater Tampa Bay Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America. As stewards of our next generation and protectors of Scouting parks, reserves, and campgrounds, these leaders have undeniably failed.
You may wonder how this has happened, and I will explain. In Hernando County, Florida, the Greater Tampa Bay Area Council owns the Sandhill Scout Reservation, a nearly 1,300-acre property in Brooksville, gifted by the Die Polder family in the 1970s. One of the conditions of this generous donation was that the land should never be sold or commercialized.
Recently, the Council issued a press release stating they are considering “a potential sale of an approximate 50-acre parcel located at the northwest corner of the camp, fronting Cortez Boulevard.” This should alarm not only the residents of Hernando County but also anyone who cares about preserving Florida’s natural environment. To make matters worse, the Council revealed they are “exploring the potential to market approximately 450 acres on the northeast and eastern side of the camp.”
This decision is not final, and it can still be reversed. Just as Governor Ron DeSantis scrapped the “Great Outdoors Initiative,” which proposed golf courses and hotels in state parks, this issue too can be brought to the forefront. I urge you to contact the governor’s office, reach out to local politicians, senators, congress members, and council representatives to stop this egregious act. If the Greater Tampa Bay Area Council won’t hold itself accountable, we, the people, must. Sign the petition! https://chng.it/X5HvJVKXd7
Sincerely,
Caleb Zapata, MBA, Eagle Scout, Former Sandhill Scout Reservation Summer Camp Staff Member, and Concerned Citizen
