The logo of Scouts Canada is shown. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Scouts Canada (Mandatory Credit)

MONTREAL — Scouts Canada says it has accepted an offer to sell a historic camp site north of Montreal that first opened more than 110 years ago.

The organization announced Thursday it has sold Tamaracouta Scout Reserve to entrepreneur Eric Desroches, in partnership with the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the town of Mille-Isles, Que.

The organization says the new owner will preserve more than 80 per cent of the land for conservation, and open a part to the public.

Scouts Canada declined an interview request, but said in an emailed statement that the decision followed "several years of thoughtful consideration, consultations, and exploration of alternative solutions."

Tamaracouta Scout Reserve, it said, "has long held historical significance within the Scouting community, particularly in Quebec. However, rising operational costs, deferred maintenance, and safety and environmental challenges rendered the site unsustainable in the long term."

The organization said it was confident that the sale would honour the property's legacy and create future opportunities for Quebec youth, adding that the transaction will be completed over the summer.

Opened in 1912, the camp closed in 2019 after what Scouts Canada called years of successive financial hardship and looming costly repairs. Scouts Canada described the property in 2024 as the oldest operating Scout camp in the world.

The president of a citizens' group that has fought to preserve the site describes it as one of the last remaining undeveloped pieces of forest in the lower Laurentians.

"It's right in the middle of an eco-corridor that can allow wildlife to keep existing in a somewhat rapidly developing area," said Karine Peloffy. "When it closed, it was the oldest Scout camp in the world so historically it has a very rich history and heritage."

Peloffy, who is also an environmental lawyer, said there had been concerns that the property would be sold to a developer and that its wilderness would be degraded.

Since the property closed, she said, it's been largely abandoned and its buildings allowed to decay. The main building was destroyed by a fire, and a totem pole was stolen from the site.

Peloffy said she's "cautiously optimistic" about the sale but is looking for concrete proof that the new owner will preserve the land. She also wants more information on what will happen to the parts that aren't preserved.

Equally importantly, she hopes the new owners continue the camp's legacy as a place for young people to discover nature.

"Our organization hopes for continued public access, and most specifically maintaining access to children, because that was the destiny of the land for over a hundred years," she said in a phone interview.

Desroches, the new buyer, could not be reached for comment. However, his business ventures include another camp, called COCREA, which offers traditional summer camp-inspired activities for adults.

Michael Reid, a former Scout leader who first camped at Tamaracouta as a child, said he and many others would have preferred to see Scouts Canada find partners that would have allowed it to keep the camp open. He said different groups were ready to step up and try to help, but feels the organization preferred a high-dollar sale instead.

"They've lost sight of their mission, and the mission is about kids," he said of the scouting organization. "And the camp provides a place for kids to automatically have a place where they can go and learn about the environment, to be good stewards, be good citizens."

Reid said the camp is a special place, where generations of young people connected with nature and each other while learning important practical life skills.

"My hope is that whoever owns it takes into account that there is a history there, and there's a purpose there, and it's something that should not go away," he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 18, 2025.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2025