Located 75 miles from New York City, between the Delaware River and the Catskill Mountains, the Ten Mile River Scout Reservation was first assembled in 1927 by Franklin D. Roosevelt in the years before he became president of the United States. This enormous property, which is just four miles from the Woodstock Festival site, has since been used annually by more than 5,000 boys and girls of diverse backgrounds from the greater New York City area for youth leadership activities and outdoor learning experiences. As one of the largest privately owned properties within the Delaware River watershed, this beloved recreational destination also plays an important role in providing ecological and climate benefits.

One of The Conservation Fund’s top priorities is ensuring large forested landscapes that support wildlife, water quality and local economies are not subdivided and converted to non-forest uses. When the Greater New York Councils of the Boy Scouts of America, one of the largest scout operations in the U.S., reached out to us in 2021 to discuss the opportunity to acquire most of this historic property for conservation, we jumped at the chance to help secure this serene forestland in the southern Catskills.

By leveraging proceeds from our pioneering green bonds and a private partnership with the nonprofit Malone Family Land Preservation Foundation, we launched an initiative to protect 9,400 acres of the historic Ten Mile River Scout Reservation. This conservation effort will allow the scouts to continue using the land in keeping with its charitable mission — all while ensuring the land is forever protected and made available for public recreation.

Our Role

In May 2022, TCF and the Greater New York Councils embarked on a multiyear effort to permanently protect most of the historic Ten Mile River Scout Reservation. The acquisition of nearly 6,100 acres through our Working Forests program provides time for the development and implementation of permanent conservation strategies on the forest to support water quality and wildlife habitat protection, help combat climate change, and explore opportunities for future public recreational access for hiking, camping and fishing. We are currently raising funds to purchase an additional 3,300 acres from the Greater New York Councils.

The Boy Scouts of America will maintain ownership of its four active summer camp facilities, which encompass 2,100 acres, so that the reservation can continue to support youth leadership programming as well as outdoor recreation and camping opportunities.

During its temporary ownership of the Ten Mile River Forest, The Conservation Fund will continue sustainable forest management practices to enhance carbon storage, recreational access, climate and fire resilience, and water and wildlife resources. We plan to work with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation on the permanent protection of this land.

Why It Matters

Through this project, TCF is again facilitating conservation at a landscape scale in order to safeguard forestland with extraordinary habitats and resources for the public. This project will forever secure more than 18 miles of streams and three miles of river frontage on the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River along with 60 miles of hiking trails. Additionally, it will store over 2.1 million tons of CO2 equivalent — comparable to the emissions from more than 472,000 passenger vehicles over the course of a year.

The National Park Service will continue to manage the Delaware River access site and Tusten Mountain Trail for the public.

This project will provide benefits to aquatic and terrestrial species as well. Because the Delaware River has remained undammed throughout the length of its main stem, it remains a natural connection to the Atlantic Ocean, allowing migratory fish to reach the Upper Delaware River for spawning. Moreover, the dense forest cover of the Ten Mile River Scout Reservation provides ideal habitat for black bears, bobcats, coyotes, wild turkeys, muskrats, minks, raccoons and white-tailed deer. The highest concentration of bald eagle wintering areas in New York is also found in this watershed.

Permanent conservation of the Ten Mile River Forest also safeguards the numerous sites used by the indigenous Lenape people that have been documented on the property.

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