NEWRY — Mahoosuc Land Trust (MLT) has announced that it has made the difficult decision to close Step Falls between Aug. 8 and Sept. 7 due to COVID-19 pandemic issues and overcrowding.
In recent years, MLT has placed parking lot monitors — mostly volunteers and college interns — at Step Falls on prime “swimming days” to welcome and orient visitors and to regulate the parking on the property. According to MLT staff, this May it became clear to the land trust that the typical volunteer interaction with the public posed an undue health risk, and made the decision not to staff the lot this summer.
In early June the trust posted a prominent sign at the entrance to Step Falls urging visitors to practice social distancing, to come back at another time if the parking lot was full and to let the trust know of inappropriate or illegal use. The sign also stated that misuse of Step Falls would result in closure by MLT.
In late spring, MLT shared its parking lot monitoring plans with the Maine Warden Service, Grafton Notch State Park, the town of Newry and in social media posts and other communication channels. Trust representatives did brief visits to Step Falls on a weekly basis, but did not become aware of significant problems until Monday, July 27, when it received reports that over the hot July 25-26 weekend, cars overflowed the lot and parked illegally on Route 26 and even on the lawns of local residents.
According to land trust staff and to numerous reports received by the Newry Town Office, there is also increasing and unacceptable crowding, which has resulted in social distancing not being maintained in the parking lot, on the trail and by the swimming holes and falls.
In response to these conditions, MLT and its board have decided to shut down the Step Falls Preserve beginning Saturday morning, Aug. 8, until the conclusion of the Labor Day weekend on Sept. 7. The trust asks the public to understand and support the rationale for this decision — the health of staff, volunteers, and visitors.
The trust can be reached at Valentine Farm Conservation Center in Bethel, at 207-824-3806 or info@mahoosuc.org.
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