The Baltimore Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America has won approval from state officials to buy 19 acres in Harford County to expand the Broad Creek Memorial Scout Reservation through an unusual method known as a land patent.
After conducting a public hearing this spring, the state's Commissioner of Land Patents Edward Papenfuse ruled that the land had never been deeded to a private owner and that the scouts had the right to purchase it. His decision marks the first time since 2002 that a private entity has received approval to secure a land patent from the state, after proving that no one else owns the land it wants.
