Hanover
Hanover Department of Public Works director Peter Kulbacki, with feedback from the Trescott Recreation Committee, recently decided to re-implement the prohibition of recreational access at Trescott — a 1,165-acre property off of Trescott Road containing more than 10 miles of trails and scenic views on historic farmland — following a series of violations against widely circulated rules last month.
Long restricted from public access due to its sensitivity abutting Hanover’s primary water supply areas (Fletcher Reservoir and Parker Reservoir), Trescott Lands opened for non-motorized recreational use last winter to much fanfare. Members of the nonprofit Hanover Conservancy and the Upper Valley Trails Alliance — who worked with Kulbacki and others to secure public access — organized guided tours, created pamphlets and erected signage in large part to discourage activities that remained prohibited on the lands, including unleashed dogs and all activities in the reservoirs. A 250-acre buffer zone surrounding the reservoirs, owned by the town, remained off-limits entirely.
Yet during the weekend of Sept. 24, what Kulbacki acknowledged as a “perfect storm” of violations occurred. A kayaker and fisherman were seen on Parker Reservoir and a hunter claimed two unleashed dogs belonging to a mountain biker chased away a deer he’d wounded, and that he was unable to relocate it. Another hunting party claimed they were harassed and lectured by hikers.
After receiving these complaints, Kulbacki decided to re-close Trescott to all but hunting, which has been allowed on the property since 2011 to help mitigate its overabundant deer population. He sought feedback from the Trescott Recreation Committee — which includes members of the Hanover Conservancy and UVTA — before finalizing his decision.
“There are bylaws in place to protect the waters and to manage the area for sustainable forestry,” Kulbacki said in an interview this week. “It has to be viewed as a public water supply area first and as a forest management area second. The recreational opportunities in the area have to be considered a lower priority.”
Both Kulbacki and the Trescott Recreation Committee hope the land will reopen to the public after the conclusion of deer season on Dec. 15, pending further efforts to dissuade rules infractions and foster a more symbiotic relationship between hunters and other recreational users.
Perhaps more education about the value of leaving the area open to hunting would be a good place to start. Five years ago, New Hampshire Fish & Game’s Kent Gustafson concluded the area was under ecological stress because of the effects of deer browsing. Facing very few predators in the favorable, low-elevation area, deer thrived there unabated for decades, devouring native plant species including young trees the Trescott Company (owned 50-50 by the town and Dartmouth College) would stand to manage and potentially harvest.
“The densities of deer were extremely high in that area, which was preventing regeneration of the forest,” Gustafson, NHFG’s wildlife programs administrator, said in a phone interview on Wednesday. “The problem is that they eat a lot of the native vegetation species. They prefer to eat young species like oak and maple, things you want to regenerate, as well as wildflowers. What they don’t eat are invasive species like buckthorn. As I recall, buckthorn had kind of been taking over (the Trescott Lands) when we evaluated it.”
A healthy forest surrounding the reservoirs also helps create a healthier water supply, Kulbacki noted, since thicker forests filter contaminants before reaching the water.
Since opening to the public in January, Trescott had been widely utilized by hikers, mountain bikers and runners, Hanover Conservancy executive director Adair Mulligan said. More than 1,800 trail maps had been taken at new kiosks erected at entrances on Trescott Road and Dogford Road, attendance at guided outings was strong and Mulligan received an abundance of positive feedback.
Aesthetic highlights of the property include views of Mount Ascutney and Killington and remnants of its once-thriving farming village, including cellar holes, a water well and stone walls.
“A lot of people were really cherishing being able to use the area,” Mulligan said. “We were getting love letters about it.”
Among Trescott’s frequent users was Jill Kearney Niles, an Etna resident whose home is 1¼ miles from the network. She’d been running or walking at Trescott about three times a week and said she was heartbroken after finding out it was to be closed.
“It had been off-limits for so long; it was so exciting when it opened up to everyone,” Kearney Niles, the Norwich Recreation Director, said. “It’s so gorgeous in there, so quiet. There’s evidence of wildlife everywhere in there, and the dirt roads in there are great for running, a lot easier on the knees. It’s really such a shame that the actions of a few people have closed it. I just want to do whatever I can to give it hope (for public access) in the future.”
The Trescott Recreation Committee two weeks ago held a meeting at Hanover Conservancy’s Lyme Road office to discuss the incidents resulting in the closure and how to move forward.
Potential resolution steps discussed included:
Erecting more signage to more clearly state rules, including at boundaries;
Making stated rules more prominent at kiosks;
Developing a message system, perhaps to appear on the town’s water statements;
Encouraging users to report violations and training volunteers to either patrol the area or greet users at trailheads during high-use times.
“We’re hoping user groups can police themselves in following the rules,” said Tom Jack, who chairs the Hanover Conservancy’s stewardship committee and co-chairs the Trescott Recreation Committee. “We want to get there through education rather than enforcement. The Department of Public Works doesn’t have the staff to enforce the rules, and I don’t think the Hanover Police Department wants to be in here doing it.”
John Taylor, UVTA’s trails programs director and a Trescott Recreation Committee member, said Trescott Lands users must ultimately decide if the area suits their needs. If not, he said, they should refrain from visiting.
“It’s a unique area, and users need to be able to respect the rules there,” said Taylor. “It’s a multiuse area where hunters are sharing the space with hikers and bicyclists in a water supply area. If they can’t accept the rules in place, they need to go somewhere else.”
Jared Pendak can be reached at jpendak@vnews.com or 603-727-3225.