For decades, The Boy Scouts of America have camped at a place currently known as Scout Island, located off the Mayfield Shore of the Great Sacandaga Lake. The Scouts do not own the island, and have no "squatters rights" - there are some who oppose granting exclusive use of the land to the Scouts.

Adirondack Council spokesman John Sheehan points out that Scouting's "exclusive right" to a state-owned island is unusual and unprecedented, despite the fact that Scouts held camp there long before the Sacandaga Lake existed. The Adirondack Council isn't pursuing a lawsuit and has nothing against the scouts. The question is one of legality.

Last year the Hudson River-Black River Regulating District tried to create a new set of rules governing access permits to the Great Sacandaga Lake. The effort fell flat, and the "old rules" remain in place. So even though the scouts have no deeded right to the island, and existing rules don't guarantee their exclusive use of the island, Batchellerville Bridge Action Committee co-founder Peter Van Avery believes the scouts needn't worry for now.

The scouts nearly lost access to the island, and there's still a chance the Department of Environmental Conservation could involve itself in the permit system, further muddying the legal waters. Scouting officials are continuing their search for a "lost" 1920s era document - a deed that would prove the Boy Scouts of America own Scout Island.