Trail nonprofit urges free access to Saxon Hill but offers to explore parking‑pass options

At the July 14 meeting of the Town of Essex Conservation & Trails Committee, Adam Wirce, director with the Fellowship of the Wheel, asked the committee to continue conversations about funding and stewardship for Saxon Hill and related trail networks.

Wirce said the organization strongly favors free public trail access but faces financial pressures. He told the committee the group had applied for more than $125,000 in grants after severe storm damage but had received about $8,000 so far, and that membership revenue has declined in recent years. “We are seeing in five years a 27% membership drop,” Wirce said, adding that lower membership and fewer sponsorships have reduced the group’s capacity for trail maintenance.

When committee members asked for specifics, Wirce said an annual Fellowship membership currently costs $60 and includes a package of member benefits intended to support trail upkeep. He estimated that a large share of trail users are nonmembers: “I would probably say 80 plus percent are not members,” he said, noting the organization has about 1,400 members spread across 11 networks.

Members asked about operational models used at other sites. Committee members pointed to the Indian Brook example, where attendants sell park passes during peak times and town residents have a lower or no fee, and to Waterbury’s card system that provides reciprocal access to a state park for members of certain trail groups. Several committee members suggested testing attendant‑based pass sales on busy weekends and afternoons and asked Fellowship of the Wheel to return with a concrete proposal.

The committee did not take immediate action; members asked staff to place a focused park‑pass proposal on a future agenda and invited Wirce back to present specific options (timing, staffing costs, resident vs. nonresident pricing, and signage to encourage membership).