By JEFF EPSTEIN
[email protected]
WEATHERSFIELD, Vt. — The town is moving ahead with a plan to increase access to its town forest by building a parking lot and trail at its southern border.
At its last meeting on Nov. 19, the select board unanimously approved a request from Town Manager Ed Morris to apply for a $100,000 grant to be used for project construction. The grant would come from the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Communities (VOREC) pilot grant program. The grants are part of a new state initiative based on Act 194, a law passed earlier this year that deals with recreational trails, among other things.
The town forest was purchased years ago through the Weathersfield Land Preservation Association and the Upper Valley Land Trust from the estate of Janet Fellows. The purchase was paid for by a combination of state grants and local donations.
Nothing has been done with the property since then, largely because although it abuts Mt. Ascutney State Park, it is otherwise “landlocked” and inaccessible.
However, the state has taken significant interest in promoting the use of town forests, largely through Vermont Urban and Community Forestry, a state program largely funded by the U.S. Forest Service. This program has been offering technical assistance to communities with town forests, and it held a workshop on town forest development and management in July.
A presentation at that workshop revealed that most of what towns want to do with their forests relates to recreation. Specifically, a survey taken during an earlier workshop in January found that recreation uses were more popular than educational or timber uses.
Weathersfield has a particular issue, however, in that the best location to build a parking lot and trail into the forest is on an adjacent parcel owned by the Abbot family, according to Morris. To accomplish that, Morris has negotiated a purchase and sale agreement with the Abbotts in exchange for writing off their back taxes, he told the select board.
Morris is also working with the state to get an easement across state land for the new trail. Getting the VOREC grant to fund the construction would help make the project more realizable. However, Morris said most of the trail work would be done by volunteers. Already, he added, he has heard interest from local trail groups including the Ascutney Trail Association, STAB (Sport Trails of the Ascutney Basin) and the Green Mountain Horse Association.
The new trail will be for pedestrian use only, not for wheeled or motor vehicles, he said.
Deadline to file for the VOREC grant is Dec. 14, and with the select board approval, Morris said he expects to file the application soon.
Meanwhile, Weathersfield is getting help as part of a working group of similar communities with town forests, working with Vermont Urban and Community Forestry to facilitate these kinds of development projects.
No specific timeline is in place for the construction of the trail and trail head.
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