On Wednesday, the Boy Scouts of America unanimously agreed on an historic change that will soon allow girls to become Cub Scouts and earn the organization’s highest honor of Eagle Scout.

The century old organization, which started as a way to “prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law,” according to their mission statement, stated that beginning in 2018, Cub Scout “Dens” will have the option of having single gender dens for girls or boys.

In addition, the organization has plans for a separate program, slated to start in 2019, that would give older girls the opportunity to achieve the rank of eagle scout.

All of this coming after the BSA commissioned 2 nationwide surveys that showed parents who were not involved in scouting exhibited high interest in the prospect of allowing girls into the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts.

The decision has drawn major criticism from parents involved in the organization and from the Girl Scouts who stated their distaste for the changes for various reasons.

In a statement made by Lisa Margosian, chief customer officer for the Girl Scouts, who added that the organization felt “blindsided” by the announcement.

Continuing to slam the BSA, a Girl Scouts spokeswoman told ABC News that “instead of addressing systemic issues of continuing sexual assault, financial mismanagement, and deficient programming, BSA’s senior management wants to add an accelerant to the house fire by recruiting girls.”

However, many parents and young females in and outside of the organization have spoken in favor of the change as they note that though the Girl Scouts and BSA have very similar mission statements, their executions are very different, citing the lack of utilizing and teaching outdoor skills across most of the Girl Scout organization.

Leaders and parents currently participating in the BSA have also been speaking out in strong opposition to the change.

“I don’t agree with [the decision]. Girls have girl scouts; boys have boy scouts. Making [accommodations] for girls in the Cub Scouts puts even more strain on the leaders, parents and the kids. As someone with 2 boys who grew up in the program, I wouldn’t necessarily be comfortable with girls being introduced into that environment,” stated Mike Kuzmit, an Assistant Scout Master for troop 138, sponsored by Saint Michael’s Church in Naugatuck.

However the decision has drawn praise from many women and parents outside the world of scouting who see the change as the  BSA adjusting appropriately with the time and giving women an equal opportunity to participate and achieve

“I think the idea of allowing girls into the [BSA] is a great idea. The opportunity that these girls now have is totally different from that of Girl Scouts, the experiences are different much like what they will take from them. I mean just look at Venturing, we [Naugatuck Troop 138] have a Co-Ed crew and it works very well,” said Robert Lyons, an Assistant Scoutmaster and Senior Adviser of Troop/Crew 138, sponsored by Saint Michael’s Church in Naugatuck.