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Political pull helped fix Scouts’ dam problem at Camp Pico Blanco

Posted by: Maven on February 2, 2009 at 6:27 am

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

The Boy Scouts of America’s Monterey Bay Area Council operated a summer dam on a pristine river and – despite official warnings – allegedly killed federally protected steelhead trout downstream. And when state and federal regulators sought to have the council stop using the dam, Scout executives turned to politicians to whom they had given campaign contributions or with whom they had personal ties.

The Scout council avoided fines and quietly secured a favorable settlement agreement that, until now, has obscured a full account of their conduct at Camp Pico Blanco on the Little Sur River, north of the rugged Big Sur coast.

In interviews, Scout officials said they followed the rules in using the dam to create a lake for summertime swimming and boating. They denied seeking special treatment from regulators. “We are good stewards” of the environment, said Ron Walsh, who was a top official at the camp. “But on the other hand, we recognized the value of the waterfront program to our kids, and we were not just going to sit idly by.”

The Chronicle obtained details of the June 2002 fish kill and its aftermath from documents obtained under the California Public Records Act and the federal Freedom of Information Act and in more than two dozen interviews.

The imbroglio at the Scout camp began when state Fish and Game officials sought to halt use of the dam about 12 miles south of Carmel, off Highway 1, because it did not meet environmental standards. But after the Scouts complained to then-state Sen. Bruce McPherson, R-Santa Cruz, officials agreed to let them continue using the dam.

Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.

February 2, 2009 · Filed Under Bay Area

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