Commission forms working group to explore SIP trail connection amid management-plan feedback

Sam Pratt, who led the meeting, said the commission had received mixed public feedback on the ACF management plan and that some concerns appear to stem from misconceptions about what the draft permits. "A lot of folks timed in. Some favored the plan. Some did not favor the plan," Pratt said during the update.

Pratt told members the committee is "still supportive of the plan" overall but formed a small working group after a proposal from Jim Cochran for a trail connection to SIP drew significant questions. "We started a working group with Jim, myself, and Wright, which is well under a quorum, to explore possibilities for what that could look like," Pratt said, adding the group will draft a memorandum of understanding to see if multiple town parties can agree on a path forward that stays within the management-plan parameters.

Members pressed whether treating a single SIP trail differently would undercut the plan's two-zone compromise for quieter northern areas. "How would a mountain bike trail in the northern zone fit with our plan to keep that area quieter and lower impact?" one member asked. Pratt proposed a cautious, phased approach: build and monitor first, then consider whether to allow bike traffic, and rely on baseline data and monitoring tools such as trail counters and cameras before changing access rules.

The working group is intended as a forum to test concepts rather than an advance commitment. Pratt said the MOU would not be a binding contract and that any trail conversation would "have to sit within the management plan, draft." He said the aim is to reduce polarization by working with critics and seeking community buy-in so the select board can have confidence when it considers approval.