To the Editor:

Dear Friends, Users, and Neighbors of Step Falls Preserve:

The Mahoosuc Land Trust (MLT) has faced a difficult challenge at Step Falls this summer because of the COVID-19 pandemic and has been forced to make some equally difficult decisions.

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 our property. This May, it became clear to us that the degree of interaction our volunteers typically have with the public posed an undue health risk, and we made the decision not to staff the lot this summer. In early June, we 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 us know of inappropriate or illegal use. The sign also stated that misuse of Step Falls would result in closure by MLT.

We shared our decision with the Maine Warden Service, Grafton Notch State Park, the town of Newry, and in social media posts and other communication channels. We have been visiting Step Falls on a weekly basis, but did not become aware of problems until Monday, July 27 when we received reports that over the July 25-26 weekend, cars overflowed the lot and parked illegally on Route 26 and even on the lawns of local residents. We are also aware that crowding 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, August 8, until the conclusion of the Labor Day weekend on September 7. We are communicating this decision to the public immediately through as many channels as possible. We hope that you will understand and support our rationale for this decision – the health of our staff, volunteers, and visitors.

Kirk G. Siegel

Executive Director

Mahoosuc Land Trust