Investigation address is the site of a Word of Life campground called The Pines
By Gwendolyn Craig
The Adirondack Park Agency is investigating possible wetlands violations on property leased by Word of Life Fellowship on Schroon Lake in Chester.
The APA, which oversees public and private development in the park, said the enforcement investigation was ongoing and declined to say if any violations or fines had been issued.
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A letter the agency sent on May 17 suggests possible violations for “removal of vegetation within the shoreline setback of Schroon Lake and placement of fill within a regulated wetland without the necessary Agency authorization.”
The letter is addressed to Warren County Camp SLNY, LLC with the same mailing address as Word of Life Fellowship. The location of the investigation site is 8260 State Route 9, Chester, which is the site of a Word of Life campground called The Pines. It is on the west shore of the southern portion of the lake, about a mile north of the Word of Life’s Bible Institute.
John B. Nelson, treasurer and director of the Word of Life Foundation, which has extensive camping and educational holdings around Schroon Lake, said the LLC is an independent organization not related to Word of Life, though Word of Life leases property from it.
Nelson declined to comment on “regulatory situations.” He also turned down the Explorer’s request for the name of an LLC representative, noting he was the one who would provide comment on the matter.
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The address of the APA’s wetlands investigation on Schroon Lake from Google Maps.
The agency’s May letter suggests APA staff would be making a site visit to the allegedly impacted area.
The APA declined to provide additional records in the enforcement file, which the Explorer had filed for in a Freedom of Information Law request.
It did not release records it considered exempt including some “inter-agency or intra-agency materials,” records it considered “unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,” and “records compiled for law enforcement purposes which if disclosed would interfere with law enforcement investigations or judicial proceedings, deprive a person of the right to a fair trial, identify a confidential source or disclose confidential information relating to a criminal investigation, or reveal criminal investigative techniques or procedures, except routine techniques and procedures.”
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The property listed on the letter the APA provided to the Explorer is owned by Camp SLNY, LLC, public records show. A secondary name is listed as “Bob Brown at Word of Life.” A LinkedIn page for Brown shows he is the vice president of the fellowship and a Bob G. Brown has been a paid director of the fellowship for years, according to tax records. The LLC has a Columbus, Ohio address.
A search of both Ohio and New York’s Department of State limited liability companies did not show any listings for either Warren County Camp SLNY or Camp SLNY.
Photo at top: Schroon Lake seen from the air. Photo by Carl Heilman II
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Does Warren County Camp SLNY LLC. pay taxes and if so, wouldn’t that be trackable?
Doug Bensen is listed on a previous application to the SL Planning Board. In that application (#SPR2023-17) he is listed as the representative for “Camp SLNY LLC”, which I assume is the same. The address for that application is the old Sunrise property, the same one in question here. Doug is also listed in the 2021 Word of Life Yearbook as a member of property services for WoL…. So the claim that Warren County Camp SLNY LLC is an independent organization not related to WoL is suspect.
Who cares honestly. It will all grow back. Vegetation was created to be harvested. Get a life.
A logger clearcut several dozen acres near where I live. No problem with me. Ohhhhh, poor APA.