Ascutney Area Towns Apply for Recreation Grant

Windsor — In an effort to promote and advertise outdoor recreation in the three towns that surround Mt. Ascutney to a broader audience, the Selectboard on Wednesday voted to apply for a planning grant from the state Department of Housing and Community Development.

Windsor would be the grant administrator, working with representatives from Weathersfield and West Windsor to implement a “multi-jurisdictional outdoor recreation plan.”

“It is a way for the three towns to come together and promote the area and show what we have to offer,” Selectboard Chairman Rich Thomas said during the meeting.

Thomas said how the grant will be used, if it is awarded, has not been fully defined but he believes the money would go toward marketing the area through a web site. A portion is for economic development to bring people to the area but it is mostly for marketing, he said.

Officials from each town met a couple of weeks ago and agreed to support the Mt. Ascutney Outdoor Recreation Plan and seek the grant, Thomas said.

“I’ve heard a lot of people say ‘let’s make the three towns more cohesive.’ ”

Though up to $45,000 is available for the grant, Thomas said they will request less than half that and have capped the match from each town at $1,000. He estimates the total will be about $25,000.

The recreational plan proposal has several aspects including public outreach, inventorying  and mapping of outdoor facilities and identifying desired future conditions and strategies to improve the recreation based economy.

Among the activities identified in the plan are hiking, mountain biking, birding, fishing, boating, swimming and skiing.

Thomas also suggested hunting, which pleased resident John Mayo, who thought that it is often ignored as an activity that can bring people to the area.

Another resident at the meeting, Mike Quinn, suggested an integration with the web site trail finder, which provides detailed information on trails and their allowable uses in New Hampshire and Vermont, to avoid a duplication of efforts.

The plan also calls for an evaluation of the economics of recreation for the area, including surveying facility users to find out where they are from and how frequently they visit the area and interview businesses on the impact of recreation for them.

Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com