Newbury, n.h.
Fish and Game has spent “countless hours” and more than $400,000 to prepare a site in Newbury on the western shore of Lake Sunapee for the proposed Wild Goose access ramps and parking lot, according to a letter the commission sent to Sununu.
But work has been delayed over the past two decades by “a few wealthy individuals who have ownership on the shores of Sunapee and want to keep out the 6th largest lake as their own private domain,” according to the letter, which was signed by commission Chairman Theodore Tichy and dated Aug. 17.
Slated for 3.3 acres of land just off Route 103, the Wild Goose project has been in the works since 1990. Although the scope of the project has changed over that time, recent plans call for two boat ramps and roughly 40 parking spaces for boaters.
However, residents of the area have battled to have the plan scrapped, saying expanded access is better suited elsewhere. They got their way in July, when Sununu announced he would pull the renewal of wetlands permits from the state’s Aug. 2 Executive Council meeting, effectively killing the project.
“We have heard the concerns of the residents of Newbury, Sunapee and the surrounding towns. Enough is enough,” Sununu said in a statement at the time. “This project has been debated for the last 20 years, and it’s time to put an end to this flawed plan.”
Vincent Greco, who represents Merrimack County on the commission, said that decision was a bad move for the state’s boaters, who deserve reliable access to the lake.
“It hurts a lot of people. Not only power boaters, but people who have kayaks and canoes,” Greco said on Tuesday. “The lake belongs to the state and we deserve to have a public access.”
Greco said he’s only heard of opposition to the boat launch from residents living on Lake Sunapee and, like the letter, blamed them for delaying progress over the years.
“I think the only people that aren’t upset are the people that live around the Wild Goose area who were pressuring the governor not to have it,” he said.
But Sununu doubled down on his stance toward the Wild Goose project on Tuesday. His spokesman, Ben Vihstadt, said the ramp has as much a chance of success as the Spruce Goose, a Howard Hughes-designed flying boat that flew only once nearly 70 years ago.
“Governor Sununu is determined to bring forward a feasible proposal that won’t stall for another twenty years and will actually allow Granite Staters greater access to Lake Sunapee,” Vihstadt wrote in an email.
Sununu’s decision might not just impact the Wild Goose project, but it also could hamper his relationship with the Fish and Game Commission, Commissioner Todd Baldwin, who represents Grafton County, said on Tuesday.
“He’s off the wall, and I don’t know what’s happening,” said Baldwin, a Thornton, N.H., resident.
The governor’s stance on the boat launch marks the third time he’s come into conflict with Fish and Game officials since taking office in January, Baldwin noted on Tuesday.
In May, Sununu ordered three nuisance bears wandering neighborhoods in Hanover be trapped and relocated in the North Country. The move reversed an earlier decision by Andrew Timmins, the state’s bear project leader, that the bears should be euthanized after becoming too accustomed to humans.
Baldwin said he also was dismayed that the governor named no Fish and Game officials to his reorganized Commission on the Humane Treatment of Animals, a group that will seek to revise New Hampshire’s animal cruelty laws after 84 Great Danes were found living in filthy conditions in a Wolfeboro, N.H., mansion.
Baldwin said there might be a growing disconnect between Sununu and the commission, adding some members are fearful they won’t be reappointed to their seats. Baldwin intends to retire from the body once his term ends in 2019.
“He can pull me if he doesn’t like me. I will not ask to be renewed because I’m just an old fart,” Baldwin said.
Opponents of the boat launch said they were mainly driven by safety and environmental concerns, and took issue on Tuesday with the commission bringing socio-economic standing into the discussion.
“That’s just not true. Our members, the residents of Newbury, New London, Sunapee, we’re not all to be put in that category,” said June Fichter, executive director of the Lake Sunapee Protection Association, on Tuesday. “It’s just an uncalled for characterization.”
The association has traditionally opposed the boat launch, she said, but not because of its members’ class or homes. They instead have concerns about the project’s effects on safety along the Route 103 corridor, Fichter said.
“We’re for public access. As a matter of fact, we helped in the acquisition of Wild Goose early on,” she said.
At the time, plans called for a cartop only access. When the project was expanded, Fichter said, the association became concerned about a costly construction project and traffic entering Route 103, where sight lines are particularly poor.
“There’s a better alternative for trailer parking available elsewhere, mostly at the state park,” Fichter said, referencing the Lake Sunapee State Beach. She added there’s also five other locations around the lake that provide access.
However, not all of those locations are truly accessible to visiting boaters.
New Hampshire currently lists Lake Sunapee State Beach, Sunapee Harbor, Georges Mills, Blodgett’s Landing and Burkhaven as public access points to the lake. But a town residency sticker is required to park at Georges Mills, and Blodgetts only allows cartop boats.
Some of the other beaches are also listed as having “limited” parking or “difficult” site access.
“We have a lot of people that want to put their boats in this lake,” said Carol Mercon, the manager of Lake Sunapee State Beach, on Tuesday. “Some of the other launches are hard to get to.”
Mercon said the park’s boat launch is typically busy every summer, as visitors from Massachusetts, Canada and New York arrive on vacation. On Monday alone, she counted 24 boats using the ramp.
“The weekends are packed. We sometimes don’t have enough room for them to park their trailers,” Mercon said, adding they sometimes expand trailer parking onto the lawn.
The state also provides canoe and kayak rentals, which usually run out on weekends, she said.
Keene, N.H., resident Phil Mundahl said he doesn’t mind paying the $10 required to launch his boat at the state beach, but complained that the water is low and he has to get out and guide the craft into the lake to prevent damage.
After pulling into the Newbury Harbor Beach on Tuesday afternoon, Mundahl said he wishes there was more access on the lake. He also believes well-heeled residents are responsible for killing the Wild Goose project.
“They’ve got all that locked up. It’s a land of ‘mine not yours,’ ” he said.
Mundahl said he has first-hand experience with lake residents exhibiting an exclusive attitude. He boats frequently in New Hampshire, but when he first was learning the area, he had the misfortune of accidentally pulling up to an association dock.
“Two or three people came out and they were acting like they were going to chop my head off,” Mundhal said. “If you think they’re going to give this up willingly, just start boating around the lake.”
But as she sat at the Newbury beach on Tuesday, Sandra Cote echoed safety concerns mentioned by the Lake Sunapee Protection Association about the Wild Goose site.
She’s been visiting the lake for 54 years and has swum down to the site a few times.
“It’s just not safe for traffic to go in and out. There would be too many accidents,” Cote said, adding cars frequently speed down Route 103B, traveling 60 mph or more.
“A boat’s going to pull out (in time)? It’s not going to happen,” she said. “People will get hurt.”
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.
Correction
Thornton resident Todd Baldwin represents Grafton County on the New Hampshire Fish and Game Commission. An earlier version of this story incorrectly described the public office he holds.