A couple of scouts prepare to shoot at the rifle range at Camp Kootaga recently during summer camp activities. A foundation is working to buy the camp from the Buckskin Council to keep it operating for local Scouts. (File Photo)

PARKERSBURG — A nonprofit established to purchase a 103-year-old Scout camp in the area is nearing its goal.

The Camp Kootaga Foundation was created earlier this year with the goal of acquiring and maintaining its namesake 377-acre camp in Walker. Foundation President Jim Bennon said they have made an offer of $1 million and are close to having the money in place to make it happen.

“We’re within 90% of having the funds we need to satisfy the offer we made,” he said, without disclosing the specific amount.

That includes a loan to be acquired through Community Bank. So even after the goal is met, the foundation will continue raising money in hopes of paying off the loan within six to 12 months, Bennon said.

The camp is owned by the Buckskin Council, which approved a strategic plan last fall that included selling the Camp Kootaga property.

Buckskin Council Scout Executive Jeff Purdy said there have been a couple of offers made on the camp, but those entities have not gotten their complete financing together yet to be able to proceed with the sale.

“The camp remains for sale,” he said.

Both offers have indicated that Scouts can continue to use the property, Purdy said.

The property has been appraised at $1.1 million and includes substantial acres of standing timber and a new lodge that add to the park’s value, officials said.

Camp Kootaga just finished its summer camp last week. Purdy visited during both weeks.

“I think summer camp was successful,” he said. “I know it was very hot.

“I met Scout leaders both weeks and had very good reports about the camp and the camp staff. That is a good thing.”

Kootaga Foundation board member Christopher Burk said the council has been very supportive of their efforts and encouraged them to work through the process.

“It has been a good partnership,” he said.

A final deadline has not been set, but the foundation has been working under the understanding of “the sooner the better,” Burk said. The foundation is hoping to have something in place to be ready to start negotiations before the end of the month, he said.

Burk said the foundation understands the council’s position in not being able to continue to support Camp Kootaga along with Camp Arrowhead in Ona and that the move to sell one was purely “a business decision.”

“The camp is a huge pull for membership in this area,” Burk said. “The Scouting program in this area will be stronger if we still have a viable camp here.”

Bennon said the camp has been a fixture in the region’s communities for more than a century and made an impact on many lives. Some families have donated tens of thousands of dollars to the effort to keep it operating as a Scout camp, he said.

“It’s contributed towards a large number of leaders in our community and other communities,” Bennon said.

While the goal is to keep it as a resource for Scouting, there are also plans by the foundation to make it available to other youth organizations and churches and even as a wedding venue.

More information about the foundation, its plans and ways to donate can be found online at the Camp Kootaga Foundation Facebook page.