Just as governing parties hoped, Hanover’s Trescott Water Supply Lands have reopened for general public use.

Originally debuting for recreational use in January, the 1,165-acre property featuring approximately 10 miles of trails, historic artifacts and scenic views was abruptly closed to all but hunters in late September. That was because of what Hanover Department of Public Works director Peter Kulbacki at the time called a “perfect storm” or rules violations, from a kayaker and fisherman spotted using off-limits Parker Reservoir — one of two active water supplies on separate, town-owned property protected by a 250-foot buffer zone — to unleashed dogs a hunter claimed scared away a deer he’d wounded.

The Trescott Recreation Committee and Hanover Conservancy announced the reopening of the property on Thursday, the day whitetail deer season ended in New Hampshire.

That had been the target date for Kulbacki and the committee, which took numerous steps in hopes of preventing a repeat of problematic rules infractions.

“We’re really excited to have it reopened,” said Adair Mulligan, Hanover Conservancy’s executive director. “As soon as it closed, we really hit the ground running to make it available again.”

Those efforts centered on ways to better educate the public about rules at the property, the most vital of which is the prohibition of access to the two reservoirs and the buffer zone surrounding them. New no-trespassing signs were erected every 40-50 feet along the buffer boundary, according to Tom Jack, chairman of the Hanover Conservancy’s stewardship committee and co-chairman for the Trescott Recreation Committee.

An updated map and display at trailhead kiosks outline the off-limits boundaries in red, and volunteers were recruited to periodically greet and inform users at trail entrances.

“(The volunteers’ duties are) really to help monitor the property, but not in a confrontational way,” Mulligan said. “They’ll make sure people know the rules of use and why, but it’s not their job to enforce the rules.”

Hanover’s DPW also installed a series of motion-censor surveillance cameras, the style often used by hunters to detect game activity.

Kulbacki was aware of the potential for pushback about the cameras, but he said they’re not intended to be intrusive or compromise privacy unnecessarily.

“They’re strategically placed, and they’re not something we’re going to be checking every day,” Kulbacki said. “The purpose is to find out more information if there are problems that arise.”

Mulligan and Kulbacki both noted that, while the water supply area’s off-limits reservoirs and buffer are owned by the town, the 1,165 acres open for public use are privately owned by the Trescott Company. Ownership of the Trescott Company itself is split 50-50 between the town and Dartmouth College.

“It’s private property; it’s not public,” Kulbacki iterated. “The town is a shareholder in the company that owns the land, which is a separate entity.”

Coyote traps have also been placed within the reservoirs’ 250-foot buffers, underscoring the importance of keeping dogs leashed.

“If your dog gets trapped, it’s because of trespassing,” Kulbacki said. “There aren’t any traps on the land open for public use.”

The Hanover Conservancy emphasized keeping dogs leashed on the property in a recent newsletter. “If your dogs needs to run free, this isn’t the place,” it stated.

Recent improvments to the Trescott Water Supply Lands includes a new foot and bike bridge over a stream on its western side. Interpretive signage is also in the works to highlight the history of the area, once home to 10 farms, a schoolhouse and the town’s “poor house” for indigent residents.

Whaleback Delays T-Bar Installation: The 800-foot T-bar lift the Upper Valley Snow Sports Foundation purchased this year as part of its learning area expansion is being delayed because of engineering and contractor scheduling conflicts.

Recent discussions with installers revealed a best-case scenario of a completed lift by the end of February, which would come with a 25 percent cost increase because the work would come in winter conditions under an accelerated schedule, according to a UVSSF news release. The nonprofit, formed in 2013 to keep Whaleback open following its bankruptcy under previous ownership, decided to delay the T-bar installation process until springtime.

“We had some (unanticipated) engineering issues,” said Whaleback chief operating officer Robert West. “When you bring something like this in, you can’t just slap it up and have at it. You have to adhere to specifications like the contours of the slope, the horsepower of the motors and factors like the number of skiers you expect to have using it. The delays we had slowed that process down enough to where, at this point, it wouldn’t be cost-effective to have it installed this year.”

Once installed, the T-bar is intended to serve as an intermediate means of ascending the mountain, between its magic carpet for 3- to 5-year olds and its main chair lift.

The T-bar was purchased, along with equipment such as improved snow makers, after a successful fundraising effort last summer.

“Everyone here is disappointed the T-bar won’t be up this winter, but we still think it’s going to be a great season,” West said.

Whaleback’s learning area and lodge opened Saturday, and it plans to open all available terrain for the season on Friday.

Don’t Sleep on This One: Eastman Recreation is preparing to host its first Sled Bed Racing event, a benefit for David’s House for families of children receiving care at Lebanon’s Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

Held on the Eastman Nordic Center practice loop, the event will race teams of four on beds mounted on skis. One nightshirt-clad person must ride in the bed, while the other three push. At the halfway point, the rider must switch positions with one of the pushers, nightshirt included.

“We thought it would be a really fun way to benefit David’s House, which relies very much on donations,” said Eastman Recreation director Charlie Taber. “There’s an event in Hopkinton (N.H.) where they have races on beds that are on wheels, but we wanted to do something on the snow. These sled bed races have occurred in places like Alaska, Michigan and North Dakota, but I’ve never heard of one around here.”

Participants bring their own beds, which must be minimum twin-sized (35 inches by 71 inches) and mounted on at least two skis. The beds cannot be pulled, only pushed, and cannot have any means of propulsion or brakes other than those provided by the pushers.

Each bed must have a theme matching that of the rooms at David’s House. Some of those include circus, garden, insects or outer space themes.

The event will also include a chili cookoff and a demo by Bill Herrick showcasing “sleboggans,” wood and fiberglass sleds the Wilmot, N.H., resident makes himself.

“He calls himself ‘Mr. Sleboggan,’ and he’s a lot of fun,” Taber said. “We think people will really enjoy the whole day.”

Registration is $100 per team. For an entry form, stop by the Eastman Recreation office in Grantham or contact Taber at charlie@eastmannh.org or 603-863-6772.

Jared Pendak can be reached at jpendak@vnews.com or 603-727-3225.