Denise Grayson had been planning a camping trip at Camp Wildcat Hollow for her Cub Scout pack in less than two weeks when she ran into a snag - the camp will be closed on the weekend she had scheduled for the trip.

Hunters trespassing on the 1,400-acre Russellville property owned by the Shawnee Trails Council of the Boy Scouts of America have forced the council to shut down the camp during modern gun season from Nov. 8-23.

As a result, Grayson and leaders from two other area Scouting groups have found their plans for camping trips at the Russellville site scuttled.

“This is so frustrating, because when we plan things for our boys, we shouldn’t have to worry about people hiding in a tree stand shooting deer when they’re not even supposed to be on the property,” said Grayson, Webelos Den Leader of Pack 303 in Russellville.

Grayson’s 10-year-old son, Austin, is a member of her pack, and she has another son and daughter who are both involved in Scouting.

Deer hunting seasons in Kentucky are scheduled so that hunters can use particular weaponry - archery season is under way and muzzle-loading season was the weekend of Oct. 18-19 and returns Dec. 13-21.

With modern gun season, however, hunters who set up stands on camp property pose a threat to campers, forcing the closure of the camp during that time, said Jay Holland, district Scout executive for the Lost River District of the Boy Scouts.

“We’ve had instances of fences being cut, we’ve seen tire tracks and stumbled on mobile deer stands,” Holland said. “I know it’s frustrating for our Scouts, but we just cannot take a chance on an accident.”

Camp Wildcat Hollow is not the only Boy Scout campground that will close during modern gun season - Holland said Camp Roy C. Manchester on Kentucky Lake also will close because of similar concerns about trespassing hunters.

While the actual campground sits on 75 acres of land, the rest of the site includes a lake, woods and hiking trails that take up the remainder of the property.

Holland said hunters have trespassed onto the camp in past years, resulting in its closing during modern gun season.

“As a council, we could have done a better job letting (troops) know beforehand about the situation,” Holland said.

Jeff Ellis, caretaker of Camp Wildcat Hollow, lives in a cabin on the property.

Ellis said that hunters in the past have cut through fencing on the other side of the lake from the campground near Buena Vista Road, disregarding several signs warning against trespassing.

The vast acreage of the campground plus the limited resources of the Shawnee Trails Council makes for a difficult task for Ellis and his assistant to find trespassers.

“I get up before daylight and situate myself before the sun comes up, but it’s really difficult to keep (hunters) out,” Ellis said.

Ellis has in the past discovered evidence that hunters have been on the property, such as stray ears of corn used to bait deer, but he has not had as much luck finding hunters on the property.

Should he come upon hunters at the camp, Ellis said he would notify the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Logan County Sheriff’s Office.

In the meantime, Grayson and leaders with Webelos Pack 540 in Auburn and Boy Scout Troop 710 in Bowling Green have to make alternate plans during the hunting season.

“All I know is we have a lot of children that are very upset because we’re not going camping,” Grayson said.