Are the water resources of the Newry/Grafton area being loved too much lately? Some local residents believe that is the case, and that support resources – parking, bathrooms, safety provisions and education – are not keeping up with the demand.

The Mahoosuc Land Trust has stewardship of several preserves/lands in the Bethel region, including the 24-acre Step Falls on Route 26 in Newry, and also partners with the state on the 386-acre Frenchman’s Hole property in Riley Township, on the outer Sunday River Road. Both are popular swimming areas.

Newry Town Administrator Loretta Powers said her office has heard complaints about parking issues and trash (primarily diapers) at Step Falls, and about a general increase in use and car traffic around Frenchman’s Hole and the nearby Letter S swimming hole.

She said that this past weekend she observed cars parked along Route 26 at Step Falls, as well as near the Screw Auger Falls and the Appalachian Trail parking lots in Grafton, and near Umbagog Lake in Upton. The parking lots had filled up and the parking overflowed on to the state road.

Parking at Step Falls

After MLT acquired the Step Falls land several years ago, gravel was brought into the existing parking lot to fill in mud holes, and a fence was put up along abutting land next to the lot, according to Jim Mitchell, executive director of MLT. The lot holds about 12 to 15 cars. Trail improvements were also done, he said.

The land trust now lists Step Falls, as well as its other preserves that may be used by the public, on its website, along with maps and other information.

Brooks Morton, a member of the Newry Planning Board and formerly its chairman, said of the parking lot work at Step Falls, “If this type of project was subject to a site plan review [by the Planning Board] issues like this could be discussed and avoided. More off-road parking could be developed if a Shoreland Zoning permit were obtained. I was told that this type of land use is exempt from review because of its low impact. Anytime you open a place to the public with no over sight, you are bound to have problems. One has to wonder if a business caused this much roadside parking to occur what the result would be.”

Mitchell said he had spent considerable time meeting with Newry Code Enforcement Office Dave Bonney about the plan for the parking lot and permitting requirements, and was told no permit was needed for the lot, since most of it was not located in Shoreland Zoning. A small area that was, he said, was blocked off to further parking, which slightly reduced the lot size. Mitchell said the MLT did obtain a permit for trail work on the site from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

Bonney was asked about the town permitting process regarding the parking lot. He said MLT had contacted him in April of 2013 about doing work on the parking area. “I advised them that I interpreted the proposed parking lot work plan as not subject to the Town of Newry Shoreland Zone Ordinance, nor subject to the Unified Development Review Ordinance,” Bonney said. “I suggested they contact the Newry Planning Board for interpretation/pre-application conference, as the Newry Planning Board administers the ordinances.” But, he said, he could find no record that had happened.

Morton said that in the past, MLT had suggested the town create an ordinance to regulate roadside parking so it could be enforced. But, he said, “To me the organization that created the problem should devise the remedy.”

Morton said that at one point on Saturday at Step Falls, “62 cars were parked on both sides of the road. This is conservation? With no toilet facilities it is a problem. In my opinion places like this should have controlled access in periods when the water is low.”

He said it appears to him that parking along the road happens most weekends during the summer, and there is evidence of sanitation problems along the falls. A kiosk at the bottom of the trail notes there are no facilities, and directs people a mile up the road to the Screw Auger Falls state facility.

Keith Durgin of Newry owns land that abuts Step Falls. He said he has often observed evidence of people relieving themselves on his land there, as well as on other property he owns near publicly accessed locations on Route 26 and elsewhere.

Durgin also said when people injure themselves on the rocks at Step Falls and need to be carried out by rescue personnel, access is often via the abutting land. That needs to change, he said, with the land organization providing such access.

He said he has owned land in the area for 15 years, and there have always been problems to some extent, but they have multiplied “by tenfold” at Step Falls since MLT took it over and have been particularly evident in the past year.

Durgin said he feels the problems at the recreation locations should be addressed by all towns that have such resources, as well as by the state. The key points, he said, are trespassing, human waste problems, parking, and safety considerations for both users and abutters.

Mitchell was asked about trash and if MLT has considered a portable toilet at Step Falls. He said that a volunteer steward, who Mitchell said had hiked the trail every other day all season in order to pick up trash, has “remarked how little trash had been left over.” And more recently, said Mitchell, the volunteer “had not seen any evidence” of human waste problems. For that reason, he said, there are no current plans to provide a facility.

Mitchell also said there are only “a few days a year” when the parking overflows the lot.

Bob Iles of Bethel, president of the MLT board, said the organization is in need of more volunteer stewards as the recreation areas become more popular.

Steve Wight of Newry, a former MLT board member who has been a longtime an advocate of outdoor recreation and conservation, was asked about the problems and possible solutions.

“As I see it, all the work that is being done locally to increase the level of wellness among the residents of Oxford County and to attract more visitors to the area is beginning to bear fruit,” Wight said. “The Step Falls trail upgrade, the Frenchman’s Hole parking lot and amenities, the construction of the Grafton Loop Trail, the new and improved boat launches, and the plans for expansion of the Bethel Pathway to Angevine Park and the Bingham Forest are all wonderful steps forward for both improving health and increasing economic prosperity in the region.

“However, with increased use and visitation comes the responsibility to provide for the parking, sanitation, and educational needs of the visitors. We need to look at all of our recreational offerings from the prospective of the users and see that parking, toilets, and simple rules of conduct must be provided. All of the nonprofits and town committees that work so hard to raise funds and construct these facilities need to come together to discuss ways to insure that the basic needs of the users are properly provided for at existing locations, as well as new ones being planned.”

(Note: The writer is married to Joe Aloisio, who is a member of the MLT board and designed the parking lot work plan for Step Falls.)

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