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Enfield commission backs follow-up with Select Board on Class 6 road signage; volunteers report trail blazes and bridge repairs
Summary
Commission voted to follow up with the Select Board about past recommendations for signage on Class 6 roads. Trail volunteers reported temporary plastic blazes and a repaired Suki Marsh bridge, and members agreed on adding blazes and directional signs at Harrisburg Reservoir access.
The Enfield Conservation Commission agreed to follow up with the Select Board to determine the status of a prior recommendation to add signage to Class 6 roads that are suitable for pedestrians and trail users.
At the meeting, a member asked whether the Select Board had ever acted on the commission's earlier recommendation; the chair said a letter had been sent but that she would look up the exact wording in the minutes. Committee member Tom moved that the commission check what the Select Board did with those recommendations. The motion was called and several members voiced "aye;" the commission agreed to follow up that month.
Commissioners and volunteers then discussed confusion at the Harrisburg Reservoir parking area and access to the trail. One member described forks at the parking lot, sparse temporary plastic blazes on trees and uncertainty about where a visitor should park and proceed. The trail steward said white blazes were nailed to trunks as temporary markers and that the group plans to repaint blazes in the normal fashion; he suggested adding 4-foot blaze poles and arrow signs on the dam and at the parking lot to reduce confusion.
Volunteers also reported rebuilding a washed-out bridge on the Suki Marsh Trail: they installed stone abutments, added supporting timbers and plan to place crushed ledge to stabilize revetment work. "We basically took the hole that the brook eroded out from under it and made it so that ... the sills of the bridge now rest," the trail volunteer said, describing the three-photo sequence shared with the commission.
Commission members agreed that adding clear signage at critical decision points and continuing repainting of blazes would make trails more accessible to visitors unfamiliar with local access points. The commission did not set a new budget at the meeting but committed volunteers to carry out the low-cost blaze-pole and arrow sign work.
Next steps: the commission will follow up with the Select Board about Class 6 signage, volunteers will add blaze poles and consider directional arrows at the dam and parking areas, and the commission will reconvene on any formal referrals or permit materials involving trail or right-of-way changes.
