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The Problem:
The Manchester Land Conservation Trust (MLCT) tried to discourage motor vehicles from its beautiful Risley Pond meadow. For several years, pickup trucks would drive off the road right across the meadow and down to the pond, sometimes even hauling in a boat with a motor. The pond is part of the public water supply, and we did not want motorboats on the pond. We have had a sign for a long time about "No Motor Vehicles," but it was ignored.

The Angst:
We thought about ways to prevent destruction of the meadow, short of continually calling the police, which some of the neighbors were ready to do. But, we also want good relations with townspeople and folks interested in recreation, including fishing. We considered developing a barrier of brush and branches, always available after a work party, but that’s not very attractive. We did not want to get into confrontations with the scofflaws. Big signs, we figured, would not do much more than the existing signs.

The Amazing Solution:
MLCT Board member Doug MacGillvary and his crew of fantastic volunteers came up with the idea of a 50-foot-long orange plastic snow fence with a tiny sign. It really did not sound as though it would work, but the sign was perfect. Not a big mean-spirited "No Parking - Police Take Notice," but a small friendly sign saying, "No Vehicles Beyond This Point." We have not seen any more tire ruts or further damage to the meadow, and no vehicles along the water’s edge. Visitors are staying in the designated parking lots – amazing! I thought of encouraging Doug and his crew to build upon this success by coming up with a way to bring about world peace, but they are too busy maintaining our 300+ acres of open spaces.

More info:
Find out more about MLCT at manchesterlandtrust.org.

Susan Barlow
Publicity chair and frequent hiker at Risley

(October 2008)

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Susan Barlow (Risley Pond); Photo © Susan Barlow (New sign at Risley Pond).