Scouts Seek Merit in Golf Course Development at Cape Lookout

Boy Scouts of America’s Cascade Pacific Council is considering leasing 200 acres of property for a golf course development just south of Cape Lookout and adjacent their Meriwether and Camp Clark facilities. The informal scoping and negotiations have been going on for a couple of months now, and the council has excluded any public input and considerably limited the input of their own members in town halls thus far, favoring financial merit of the project over Boy Scout values. But that hasn't stopped scout members and troop leaders from internally organizing, reconsidering their contributions to BSA, contacting donors and initiating a petition to demonstrate their strong opposition.

One visit to the spectacular wonder of Cape Lookout is all one needs to understand what a horrible idea a golf course development would be here. The coast is unspoiled here, a remote access but worth it as the site exudes an Oregon coastal experience of solitude and ecological wonder - a place you have to earn by trail and beach miles to enjoy, not by the size of your wallet and golf handicap. The property in question, tucked neatly behind the prominent headland of Cape Lookout, is surrounded by public lands. Surfrider Foundation members and chapters in Oregon are strongly opposed to this development proposal which conflicts with existing uses of public lands, undermines the ecological integrity of the site, demands high volumes of water in a questionable climate and will likely cause adverse ocean impacts due to runoff from fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides used in golf course applications -not to mention most of us like to see trees and forests, not golf courses on remote stretches of coastline. Take a look at the photo below, looking south of Cape Lookout and imagine what a golf course in the forested area adjacent the beach - yes, it makes our stomachs turn too!

The proposal is being led by Mike Keiser, golf course czar, owner of Bandon Dunes golf resort who continues to perpetuate financial opportunity over developing the dying sport along the Oregon coast. In all fairness, Keiser is a respectful developer and philanthropist, but when it comes to Oregon coast golf courses, we just have a difference of opinion for what we value on our coast. If the only merit the BSA council is looking for in this development and lease is financial gain, let's consider why that in itself is a bad idea. In the past decade, the financial hole that golf is in has been getting deeper, losing 5 million players in the last decade with another 20% of players to be lost in the next few years according to the National Golf Foundation in a New York times article. A glance at the demographics of Tillamook doesn't exactly scream a golfer profile either. With a median household income at just over $29K per year, Tillamook is a far cry from that of the average golfer which has an annual median household income at about $95K according to the Statistic Brain Research Institute. All in all, golf is just a bad financial investment right now and by no means is an investment in our coastal environment.

Scout members and long time leaders from Camp Meriwether are outraged. The public opposition, largely not engaged at this time will be massive. Scouts alone have reached nearly 4,000 in opposition on their petition and if this goes to land use hearings, they're going to need a football stadium to house the opposition poised for comment. Oregon Coast Alliance (ORCA) has offered support to the BSA Council for alternative revenue opportunities over developing and leasing the property to Keiser for a golf course, but the council has been unresponsive, seemingly with a singular focus to continue undermining scout values. Let's hope the council can make the right decision here and abandon this development and lease consideration, there are many groups like ORCA, including scout troops within their own membership, that are more than willing to find merit in other, more sustainable opportunities for revenue generation.

Official BSA Summary of Camp Meriwether Golf Course Proposal