Three nonprofits come together with a winning bid for the Boy Scouts’ beloved Camp Pico Blanco.

Peter Lemon is a lifelong member of the Boy Scouts, and attended Camp Pico Blanco in Big Sur as both a scout and a staffer. He calculates that in total, he spent two years of his life there. “This is the place where I grew up, the most treasured place on the planet,” Lemon says. He still serves as a scoutmaster for a local group.

Given his affection for the camp, it should be no surprise that Lemon is personally invested in maintaining access for scouting activities on the beloved property, even after the Boy Scouts no longer own it. Since the camp closed in 2016, he’s been involved in the process of selling it.

Lemon is hopeful that they have found that owner: A partnership between three local nonprofits, the White Stag Leadership Development Academy, the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County and Camping Unlimited. The trio calls itself Pico Partnership, and submitted a proposal on June 26 to the Boy Scouts of America to acquire Camp Pico Blanco. “We believe this partnership represents a ‘dream team’ to purchase and protect Camp Pico Blanco, for the benefit of the scouts and the public,” leaders of the groups wrote.

Pico Partnership is now in exclusive negotiations with the Boy Scouts for acquisition. (No party shared the offer price.)

In the spring of 2022, the Boy Scouts posted the camp for sale for $1.8 million, and 350 acres of undeveloped wilderness for $1.6 million. Lemon says the response was overwhelming: “We saw literally thousands of clicks.” About 60 people, representing 30-40 organizations, attended a site visit. Eventually, nine formal submissions came in.

It was on the site tour that representatives of White Stag, the Esselen Tribe and Camping Unlimited met, and subsequently decided to combine forces. “We decided, rather than competing with one another, why don’t we partner with one another?” says Alex Krem, executive director of Camping Unlimited, which operates a 100-acre property in the Santa Cruz Mountains serving children and adults with disabilities. “Some prospective buyers saw this as a nice place for a fancy glamping facility. Or they were adding sexy properties to their stable of offerings.”

While other prospective buyers did offer more money, Lemon and other Boy Scouts representatives had other criteria in mind. First is continued access for scouting; second is environmental stewardship; third is a reasonable financial outcome.

The Esselen Tribe was the steward of the land for some 15,000 years before European settlers displaced its former inhabitants. “[Land] is much more than a mere economic asset; it is connected to spiritual beliefs, traditional knowledge and cultural teachings,” the partners wrote.

White Stag operates a leadership training program that has trained some 30,000 youth over 65 years, including for 30 years at Camp Pico Blanco, and during the six years of closure has brought in volunteers to do maintenance. “We’re looking forward to going home to Pico Blanco,” says Steve Cardinalli, president of the nonprofit (and also chairman for Monterey County scouting).

Now, Pico Partners and the Boy Scouts are hashing out specifics, like a shared calendar. “It’s the nitty-gritty details,” Lemon says. “If we do a good job now, the property will be able to be used for generations to come.”