SABATTUS — Androscoggin Land Trust announced Monday its purchase of Camp Gustin for $415,000, assuring it remains the home for local Boy Scouts.

The official closing was Sept. 15, according to a news release.

Executive Director Aimee Dorval said local Boy Scouts will continue the 90-year tradition of calling the camp home while the land trust incorporates an additional 95 acres of forest and wetlands to its adjacent Curtis Bog Conservation Area and a neighboring easement.

The trust and former owner Pine Tree Council began talks over two years ago and a capital campaign launched in March yielded enough donations and grants to get a gap loan to seal the deal.

Land For Maine’s Future pitched in $207,500; Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund, $25,000; John Sage Foundation, $8,000; and individuals about $85,000.

The trust thanked other contributors: The Conservation Fund, Bureau of Parks and Land, Rob Levin, Lost Valley, Sonder & Dram, The Vault, Norway Savings Bank, Waterman Farm Machinery, Maine Source Homes & Realty and the Gustin Family.

Charles Gustin deeded the property to Pine Tree Council in 1948 in hopes Sabattus could recreate the scouting experience his sons had at Camp Hinds in Raymond, according to Sun Journal archives.

Pine Tree Council considered selling Camp Gustin and Camp Hinds in Acton in 2009 to put toward the Boy Scouts of America victims’ fund.

While the Gustin families have been vocal about Pine Tree Council not selling the camp, the latest news comes with their full support of Androscoggin Land Trust’s mission to permanently conserve land from development.

“(This) will preserve the property for outdoor recreational use in its wild and undeveloped nature by the Boy Scouts and the public,” Charles Gustin’s granddaughter Shareen Gustin Thompson said. “It has always been a source of immense pride that our grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great grandfather, Charles W. Gustin, made this charitable land donation in 1948. It was very important to his two sons, George W. and Lewis A. Gustin, that the land continue to be used for the purpose their father intended, and for his legacy to live on for generations. … Truly, this is a great outcome and will allow Camp Gustin to be appreciated and used for years and years to come by all.”

Dorval said the conservation area will total 429 acres of undeveloped natural habitat and protects 1,800 feet of Loon Pond shore frontage, streams, vernal pools, wetlands and 15 acres of Curtis Bog. The property was at significant risk of development since Pine Tree Council started considering selling over a decade ago, she said. Now, access to the land will expand to other youth groups and the public for camping and other activities, including hiking, hunting, biking, skiing, fishing and birding.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to conserve a very important property not only for its conservation values, but its historical ties for local people, the Gustin family and the scouting community,” Dorval said. “We are grateful to the Pine Tree Council for agreeing to sell and conserve this land. … The contiguous wildlife habitat and wetlands are irreplaceable. And we are extremely grateful to have the full support of the Gustin family in protecting a piece of land that is sentimental to their family.”

Dorval said in an email that the gap loan is covering $300,000 until all donation checks arrive, so they continue to seek about $150,000 in donations to finish paying down the loan and setting funds aside for future operations.

For more information about Androscoggin Land Trust visit www.androscogginlandtrust.org or email info@androscogginlandtrust.org

Copy the Story Link

« Previous

Twitchell Airport property in Turner under contract to be sold

Next »

Turner resident crawls to safety as fire destroys home