Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Timeline and Summary of Pigeon Lake Camp


note the timeline at the end
THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN SYSTEM
REQUEST FOR
BOARD OF REGENTS ACTION
JUNE 2016
INSTITUTION: UW-River Falls
REQUEST: Authority to sell a 0.9 acre parcel of land located in the Town of
Drummond, Bayfield County, and all buildings and infrastructure
improvements on adjacent leased land.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
This action will allow the university to work cooperatively with the Board of Commissioners of
Public Lands (BCPL) to dispose of an underutilized property and improvements known as the
Pigeon Lake Field Station (PLFS). The field station is located approximately eight miles west of
Drummond or about 40 miles southwest of Ashland. As part of a lease and associated sale
agreement with the United States (US) Forest Service in 1959, the Board of Regents of State
Colleges purchased several cabins, support buildings, and other site improvements from the US
Forest Service, then leased the underlying land from the Forest Service and later from the BCPL
when the ownership changed in 1989. The camp closed and has been vacant since 2014 due to low
program enrollments, a lack of available programming, and escalating operating costs. Because of
this, the university has declared it underutilized and wishes to dispose of the assets, and BCPL is
also desirous of disposing of the property on which the field station lies. This property sale also
includes an adjacent Board of Regents-owned 0.9 acre parcel of land purchased in 1966 from a
private party. That parcel is surrounded by the BCPL-owned property to the north and the
shoreline of Pigeon Lake to the south.
The BCPL is acting as the lead agency that will execute the sale of the property and
improvements through a public sale process. The property will be offered at a minimum bid price
equal to the appraised value of $1,325,000. The proceeds will be distributed proportionally to
BCPL and the Board of Regents based on each agency’s appraised land values, buildings, and
related improvements. Appraised values as of April 13, 2016, are as follows:
BCPL Land: $487,025
BOR Land: $4,950
Improvements: $838,102
Total: $1,330,077
PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:
The Pigeon Lake Field Station is comprised of twenty-one cabins, five academic buildings, and
eleven support buildings sitting on 89.45 acres of land with 1,750 feet of shoreline. Infrastructure
includes a well and water distribution system, an on-site sanitary waste disposal system, electrical
service to all buildings, gravel roads, and parking. From 1959 to the early 1980s, the camp was
primarily used for biological research and other instructional programs that took advantage of the
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camp’s rustic natural setting. Since the early 1980s, programming has been in decline and is no
longer a thriving sustainable business model.
In 2014, in an effort to ward off further operating expense deficits, the camp was closed and
mothballed. Efforts were made to transfer the management responsibility of the camp to another
UW university during that year, however no other university was interested in running and
managing the camp. In 2015, a joint decision was made by UW-River Falls, UW System
Administration, and BCPL to sell the land, buildings, and improvements.
BUDGET AND SCHEDULE:
No funds are needed for this action.
May 2016: Board of Commissioners of Public Lands approved
June 2016: Board of Regents approval
July 2016: Public sale bidding process
Sept 2016: Closing
PREVIOUS ACTION: NONE

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