Third camp reunion/
open house Aug. 27

   Camp Tuscazoar will host its third reunion/open house on Sunday, August 27 from 1 to 8 p.m. Come and visit old campsites, enjoy the view from Pioneer Point or Buzzard's Roost, tour the cabins or just swap stories. No program is planned, just a day of reflection. The event will include a wiener roast for a $1 donation, and we hope to have a representative from the timbering company on hand to answer questions. Please pass the word to all Camp Tuscazoar alumni you know and invite them to attend.

A statement on the Tuscazoar
selective timber harvest:

    Several years ago, the Camp Tuscazoar Foundation (CTF) began a process that recently culminated in a selective harvest of timber at Camp Tuscazoar. This harvest was undertaken to solve several complicated problems faced by the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees, with the support of the Foundation membership, sought the most feasible solutions and the best use of camp resources to maximize benefits for the continuation of Camp Tuscazoar and the Foundation charged with its care.
    Our forest has not been healthy. Each large storm that passed through downed weakened or vulnerable trees, more than once costing the camp damages to buildings and property. Every forest suffers trees that become diseased or damaged, die and fall. This is not new. However, it is a more prominent problem in a forest as heavily traveled and occupied as ours. Dangerous trees had grown large near some of our camp buildings. These not only posed dangers during storms but blocked the sun and wind from drying the buildings and the surrounding forest floor after rains, promoting rot and maintenance problems.
    Also, the forest canopy had grown dense. Larger trees shaded smaller trees forcing only tall growth to reach the open sunlight. Shorter, younger trees were shielded and the forest floor did not sustain the smaller trees well without the bright light of an open sky. Erosion and wet areas became constant opponents to camp operations. Thinning the canopy will allow more sun for the smaller trees and will also allow faster and fuller development of branches and root systems. Our smaller forest components will grow stronger and more healthy. The canopy provided deep shade for campers but it prevented the healthy growth of grass in our campsites. Now, we hope to improve campsite conditions by drying them faster and encouraging healthy ground cover.
    Every not-for-profit foundation needs money and raises it at every opportunity. The CTF operates with minimal membership dues, low camping fees, donations and several annual event weekends to replenish our operating funds. We always need funds for ongoing maintenance and improvement projects. Our forest has created some of these problems, and we see this forest as a resource for its own benefit. To maintain the health of the forest and the Foundation the forest is able to give us what we need. This has been done in the past and may occur again in the future. By selling selected timber from our forest, the CTF has begun a maintenance program for its benefit while generating funds which we will use to improve camp facilities in ways we could not otherwise have hoped. With crossed fingers for the influx of funds, an aggressive project was completed last year overhauling the stressed camp water system. Other projects are planned. Some of the compensation received from the timber sale is being closely and carefully parceled out to accomplish them in the best of ways.
    Our forest is better now than before. It will improve quickly and signs of the selective timbering will soon fade. The timbering crews assisted us with very specific requests and considerations, for which we are most grateful, including choosing each tree on its merits, removing dangerous trees at much extra effort and leaving majestic trees standing while taking trees perhaps less desirable. Camp drainage has never been better in areas we have rarely found dry. Road improvements and trail additions also are part of the benefit. And there will be no lack of firewood for next winter’s campers to collect. 
    So, come to Camp Tuscazoar and see what we’re doing. It is only for the benefit of this wonderful camp that all the dedicated volunteers work so hard. All of our projects are done for the groups and individuals who use Camp Tuscazoar as a retreat, a playground, a school and a chapel. It is all of this and we plan to keep it so. Support our efforts. Join the Camp Tuscazoar Foundation. As a member you can have increased input and lend your skills and experience to helping the camp’s management. Visit us often and tell us what you see. What you like and what you enjoy are invaluable in our decisions.

"Keeping the Spirit Burning at Camp Tuscazoar"
Board of Trustees, Camp Tuscazoar Foundation, Inc.