Camp sales anger local Girl Scout leaders

ST. PAUL, Minn., Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Opponents of the sale of Girl Scout camps in Minnesota and Wisconsin say there could be a widespread boycott of cookie sales in reaction to the sale.

The Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys, based in St. Paul, Minn., plans to sell four of its camps, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Leaders say the council, formed in 2006 by a merger, doesn't need the 12 camps it now owns.

Kim Zaiman, a troop leader in Maplewood, Minn., and member of Friends of the River Valleys, said no one is organizing a boycott. But she expects a lot of people to join in.

"It's been spreading like wildfire since Saturday," she said. "There are many, many people that are withdrawing from the cookie sale. This might be the only way to get their attention to -- to impact their bottom line."

The council is launching the annual fundraiser on Saturday.

Michelle Tomkins, a spokeswoman for Girl Scouts of America, said many other councils are in the same situation, with post-merger disputes about selling real estate. She said boycott talk is not surprising.

"People tend to threaten the cookie sale whenever they don't get what they want," she said.