The same federal rule that closed a popular recreation trail in Claremont to all-terrain vehicles is forcing Haverhill to impose an identical ban on the Blackmount Branch Trail.
The Haverhill Selectboard voted last month to exclude ATVs and other off-highway vehicles from the former railway corridor that runs 5 miles between the villages of North Haverhill and Woodsville.
The vote came after the New Hampshire Department of Transportation notified Haverhill Town Manager Jo Lacaillade that motorized use on the trail violates rules governing the Federal Highway Administration’s Transportation Enhancement program, which provided the $170,000 grant the town used to acquire the corridor in the mid-1990s.
The federal funding aims to help municipalities acquire or improve land for pedestrian and bicycle use, among other purposes.
The Blackmount Branch Trail had been popular among ATV riders such as the Bath-based Ammonoosuc Valley ATV Club, whose members regularly parked at a picnic pavilion area in North Haverhill to access the trail.
Ammonoosuc Valley ATV Club member Ron DeRosia, of North Haverhill, said the ATV ban eliminates more than the 5 miles between North Haverhill and Woodsville for riders, at least for practical purposes.
“The great thing about that trail is that there is a parking area (in North Haverhill) called Augie’s Take-a-Break, where you can park and unload,” DeRosia noted. “There’s nowhere like that in Woodsville; the next parking area headed north would be in Lisbon. So whereas we used to be able to ride all the way from North Haverhill to Littleton, now you’re cutting out about half of that. You can still go from Lisbon to Woodsville, but now you’re having to backtrack if you still want to go to Littleton.”
Lacaillade said she was surprised to learn of the federal rule, which also forced Claremont to prohibit off-highway vehicles from a 2-mile city-owned recreational trail earlier this year.
The New Hampshire division of the Federal Highway Administration rejected a waiver request submitted by NHDOT Commissioner Victoria Sheehan on behalf of Claremont this summer. Claremont argued that federal money had been used to acquire, not construct, the former railway corridor, but federal officials responded that they had always applied the ATV ban in such situations.
State transportation officials provided Lacaillade with the federal officials’ response to Claremont’s waiver request because of similarities between the situations in Claremont and Haverhill.
“Our arguments are the same (as Claremont’s) as to why we want ATVs to be allowed on the trail,” Lacaillade said in an email. “Since Claremont was unsuccessful, (NHDOT) does not feel we will fare any better.”
According to spokesman Doug Hecox, the Federal Highway Administration has received only two waiver requests for off-highway vehicle use on trails funded by that program: Claremont’s and one in Minnesota, whose supporters eventually abandoned the effort.
Federal officials urged Claremont to pursue alternatives, including a potential route roughly parallel to the affected trail, as well as determining whether it would be appropriate for off-highway vehicles to use designated highways, shoulders or streets within the city to connect trail riding areas and businesses.
Lacaillade cited at least three businesses in North Haverhill that will be affected by the loss of ATV riders, including stores and a campground where riders regularly stayed. The alternatives suggested for Claremont might not be plausible in Haverhill.
A route parallel to the Blackmount Branch Trail would largely traverse private properties and require extensive landowner cooperation, she noted.
“Neither I nor (Ammonoosuc Valley ATV Club members) think a parallel trail would work out, but we may look at this as we regroup,” Lacaillade said. “I do not believe we would allow (ATV riders) on roads. We have had complaints brought to the town in the past when they were using Class VI roads, and letting them use well-traveled roads is not feasible.”
While there are no programs facilitated by the Haverhill recreation department encouraging nonmotorized use of the Blackmount Branch Trail, Haverhill Recreation director Sherri Sargent said she regularly sees bicyclists, runners and dog walkers entering and exiting the trail.
Sargent feels the trail should be open for motorized and nonmotorized use.
“When you have a recreation trail like that, I feel like it should be open to everyone,” she said. “(ATV riders) have been sharing it with other users for more than 20 years without incident, as far as I know. So I don’t think there are any safety issues there.”
Lacaillade — who would like to receive more feedback from Haverhill residents about the issue — noted that not everyone is disappointed ATV users are now prohibited from Blackmount Branch Trail.
“Some have stated it is nice not to have to worry about dust coming in their windows, (and there has been) a few comments that it is nicer to walk there now without having to move aside for ATVs,” she said. “But for the most part, I have not heard much from non-ATV users.”
According to the NHDOT, the town of Haverhill would have been asked to reimburse the Federal Highway Administration its $170,000 in grant money if it failed to ban motorized use of the trail.
“I could not, in good conscience, risk the taxpayers having to pay that back,” Lacaillade said. “That is why I urged the board to take action and close the trail (to ATV use) for now.”
Jared Pendak can be reached at jpendak@vnews.com or 603-727-3225.