With Final 25 Acres Protected, Staten Island’s Pouch Scout Camp Is Permanently Preserved
New York City’s Only Boy Scout Camp Is Now Fully Safeguarded for Future Generations of Adventurers
New York, NY — After more than a decade of work and partnership, Trust for Public Land [TPL], City of New York [NYC], the New York Department of Conservation [NYDEC] and the Boy Scouts of America Greater New York Councils [Boy Scouts] announced today that the final phase of conservation for the William H. Pouch Scout Camp is complete. With the protection of the remaining 25 acres—known as Camporee Field—this beloved 120-acre landscape in the heart of Staten Island’s Greenbelt is now permanently preserved.
“Protecting Pouch Camp means ensuring every person in New York has close-to-home access to outdoor spaces that educate, inspire, and connect us to nature,” said Tamar Renaud of Trust for Public Land, NY State Director. “From casting a first fishing line to exploring wooded trails, this special place has sparked generations of New Yorkers who love the outdoors—and now, it’s secured for generations to come.”
With funding support from the City of New York, the final phase caps a multi-year, $9.6 million effort led by TPL in partnership with the Boy Scouts of America Greater New York Councils, New York State, the City of New York, and a coalition of community leaders and conservation partners. The land was protected through a conservation easement, which permanently prevents development while allowing continued scout programming, summer camp activity and managed public access.
“Preserving our precious greenspaces is essential for connecting New Yorkers to nature, providing recreational opportunities, and strengthening our tree canopy. This conservation easement permanently protects this section of the Greenbelt and ensures the land can be enjoyed by youth campers for generations to come,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa. “We’re grateful to the Trust for Public Land, Boy Scouts of America Greater New York Councils, and our city and state partners for their efforts to make this preservation a reality.”
Pouch Camp, the only Boy Scout camp within the five boroughs, has been a launchpad for outdoor discovery for more than 60 years, introducing tens of thousands of youths annually to hiking, camping, fishing, and paddling—many for the first time. The site offers enriching and meaningful outdoor experiences for scouts, summer camps, school groups, and the broader public, while also serving as critical green infrastructure for flood protection, wildlife habitat, and water quality in New York City’s largest natural area.
Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Amanda Lefton said, “Outdoor skills are life skills that everyone should have access to, and thanks to Governor Hochul’s leadership, Pouch Camp’s protection bolsters New York State’s legacy of providing opportunities to learn and grow in the wilderness without having to leave the city. The final phase of the William H. Pouch Scout Camp conservation easement locks in permanent protection of this special place from future development and ensures kids have a safe space for fishing, boating, and camping experiences that will last a lifetime, fostering the next generation of environmental stewards.”
The newly protected acreage strengthens the Staten Island Greenbelt—a 3,000-acre network of public parks, forests, and wetlands—by adding more open space for recreation, biodiversity, and climate resilience. The conservation of Camporee Field completes a vision laid out in 2012 when the first 25-acre portion of the camp was protected.
“Pouch Camp is much more than a Scout camp—it’s a community treasure and a green sanctuary in the heart of our city, offering outdoor adventure- including fishing, hiking, climbing, and archery,” said Saroya Friedman-Gonzalez, Scout Executive & CEO of the Greater New York Councils, BSA. “Pouch Camp is the only urban Scout camp in the nation serving New York City families and visitors from across the globe. Thanks to this partnership, future generations of young people and families will continue to be able to explore the magic of the outdoors through Scouting right here in New York City.
As cities grow and access to nature becomes increasingly limited, protecting places like Pouch Camp ensures that every child, regardless of zip code, has the chance to fall in love with the outdoors—whether through an archery bull’s-eye, a quiet paddle on Ohrbach Lake, or the excitement of reeling in their first fish.
“Pouch Camp is a humble, yet vibrant, green jewel at the heart of our Borough of Parks, which offers a little something to everybody – from the regular parkgoer to the young person getting their first experience with the outdoors. We are excited that now, thanks to more than a decade of hard work from local government and nonprofit entities who care for our environment, the entirety of Pouch Camp is protected, and can continue to be enjoyed forever,” said Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella. “First, we would like to thank the Scouts for recognizing the importance of keeping Pouch Camp open and preserved, for generations to come. We also recognize the work of our predecessors, former borough president Jimmy Oddo who fought for this latest easement, and former borough president Jim Molinaro with the previous easements a decade ago, and the many others who played a role in support.”
“Staten Island’s wide open space, fresh air and untouched nature are what make our borough such a unique place to live and are central to our identity as the Borough of Parks. These resources must be fought for and protected,” said Councilmember David Carr. “Thanks in large measure to the leadership and advocacy of Jimmy Oddo and the efforts of state and local agencies, Pouch Camp III is permanently protected for generations to come by being placed in a conservation easement under the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. I will continue to fight to ensure that the Staten Island we know and love stays that way.”
In addition to the key stakeholders mentioned above, the following individuals provided critical support, without whom this effort to conserve Pouch Camp in perpetuity would not have happened: Commissioner of Buildings and former Staten Island Borough President James (Jimmy) Oddo and his now retired Deputy Ed Burke, previous Parks and Recreation Commissioner Sue Donoghue, Borough Parks Commissioner Lynda Ricciardone, Borough Parks Chief-of-Staff Joseph Homsey, Greenbelt Administrator Steve Cain, State Senator Andrew Lanza, Assemblyman Michael Cusick, and the mighty Committee to Save Pouch Camp, namely Alex Zablocki, Dominick DeRubbio, Brandon Linker and Victoria Cerullo.
In New York, TPL has preserved over 124,398 acres of open land and completed more than 583 projects including the transformation of 235 community schoolyards since 1996.
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About Trust for Public Land
Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit that works to connect everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they are needed most. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of public land, created more than 5,504 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, raised $110 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 9.7 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org.
