Board approves wetland permit for 300‑foot trail repair at Little Harbor Loop

The Portsmouth Planning Board voted to grant a wetland conditional use permit to the Society of Protection of New Hampshire Forests for a trail‑maintenance project on the Greek Farm property that will repair about 300 linear feet (approximately 1,500 square feet) of eroded trail within the 100‑foot tidal wetland buffer.

Dylan Summers, stewardship project manager, said the project will construct a modified ‘‘turnpike’’ using layers of coarse drainage stone, geotextile fabric and compacted aggregate to raise and stabilize the tread and restore natural drainage. Summers noted the Conservation Commission recommended approval after the application was stamped by a wetland scientist. He added that temporary stockpile areas will be used and that those areas will be restored to original condition after work; the board later added that restoration as an explicit condition.

A local volunteer and conservation supporter told the board the expanded contiguous repair will reduce repeated machine traffic and likely limit future informal widening of the trail. The board discussed timing and erosion controls; the applicant said the work is most likely to occur in late summer or fall and that silt socks and silt fencing would be used as appropriate.

Why it matters: The work addresses long‑standing erosion that creates muddy, widened trail segments adjacent to tidal wetlands. The chosen construction method aims to stabilize the trail while limiting expansion of the disturbed footprint.

What’s next: Applicant must satisfy staff conditions and restore temporary impact areas after construction; the board recorded the permit with the additional restoration condition.