Vandals shear off gates to forest

Trent Spiner

Despite the best efforts of local volunteers, vandals have destroyed a number of gates blocking traffic into Bow's Nottingcook Forest, also leaving behind trash and damaged hiking trails.

Selectmen voted to have the gates installed after the police found a number of people dumping items such as old appliances and roofing shingles in the town-owned forest. The gates were installed two weeks ago.

Nearby residents said the area is known as a spot to go "mudding" in pickup trucks and all-terrain vehicles.

"It is truly bizarre that some people feel this is a challenge to them or (a challenge) to their God-given right to use their toys of choice wherever and whenever they choose," said Harry Judd, chairman of the board of selectmen.

Ken Demain, an outdoorsman who helped install the gates, said the plan was to raise the them during hunting season. They were built with enough room on the side to allow snowmobiles to pass in the winter.

But the bars were found by the police last week in a pond inside the forest. Workers from the town's highway department recovered them, discovering cut marks at each end. Posted signs with rules for the town forest were also stolen.

"Apparently, they were sending a message to the town that they didn't want their party area shut down," Demain said.

Bob Dawkins, president of Bow Open Spaces Inc., a nonprofit group that holds a conservation easement on the land, said someone with a powerful battery-operated hand tool likely sawed the gates into pieces.

Since then, trash has collected inside the forest, including piles with dozens of shotgun shells, clay targets, burned tires and household trash.

Dawkins, who leads snowshoeing trips through the forest in the winter, said he was disappointed by the vandalism.

The forest, with entrances located off Woodhill Hooksett and South Bow roads, has miles of trails. Some trails run along Cascade Brook to a scenic overlook where, on a clear day, Mount Washington comes into view, Dawkins said.

"The gates were installed because the selectmen were concerned about all of the dumping of construction debris and other items in the town forest," he said. "And the town was having to pay significant disposal cost to remove the debris. They were not going to incur those costs anymore."

Volunteers raised $7,000 to purchase and install the gates.

"As you might imagine, their emotions run from disappointed to outrage," Judd said. "This is not a high school senior prank. . . . This is just flat-out vandalism."

Police Chief Erin Commerford said officers are mulling felony charges. She asked anyone with information to contact the police department at 228-0511.

Dawkins said there are no plans to replace the gates until the police arrest someone in connection with the case. He said he hopes someone will be charged with theft and forced by the court to pay restitution.

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Source: http://www.concordmonitor.com/article/vandals-shear-off-gates-to-forest

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