Hearst Newspapers Publish Joint Investigation of Boy Scouts

By: Joe Strupp In the latest example of combining resources from different news outlets, Hearst today is publishing a joint investigative project from five of its newspapers. The subject: Boy Scout Council abuse of forests.

"Boy Scouts councils across the country have widely logged or sold prime woodlands to turn quick profits, sometimes on lands that were bequeathed to the Boy Scouts by donors intent on preserving the lands for outdoor recreation," an announcement of the project stated. "The Hearst journalists found that over the past 20 years, scouting councils nationwide have carried out clearcuts and other commercial timber harvests in and around sensitive and protected forests. Local Boy Scouts administrations across America have also reaped tens of millions of dollars from selling campgrounds and other properties."

The investigation, headed by two editors from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, included reporting from the Albany (N.Y.) Times Union, Houston Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News, and San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst-Argyle Television is also scheduled to run the story across some of its 29 television stations and Web sites today.

"The investigation found that while the Boy Scouts? Outdoor Code directs youths to 'be conservation-minded,' the organization has often sought cash exclusively from developers, not land trusts or conservation groups," the announcement stated. "Across the country, mega-mansions, senior housing complexes, retail offices, and even a casino?s golf course have risen in place of timberlands once owned by the Boy Scouts. A few councils have sought to use revenues from logging or land sales in part to help make up for economic losses due to the organization?s recent ban of gay and atheist members."

Hearst Newspapers also found "some Scouts? executive salaries and retirement packages were larger than those offered by many comparable non-profits. Also, the reporters found examples of cozy relationships between councils and influential volunteers, including timber company employees serving in key Boy Scouts board positions."

The investigation began in the spring of 2007 and included a review of some 400 timber harvests, court papers, property records, tax filings, and other documents dating back to 1990, Hearst revealed.

The report, which is running in all Hearst papers, can be found at:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/specials/scoutslogging/397864_
loggingmain29.html