• 1)  If you are interested in outdoor recreation, environmentally sustainable development and Trail Towns, read the Impact Report released by the Great Allegheny Passage Conservancy and Fourth Economy (an economic development consulting firm.)

    2)  The Eastern Trail is intended to provide the route for the East Coast Greenway in southern Maine through a four-season, non motorized, multipurpose, transportation and recreation trail between Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and South Portland, Maine. The approximately 65 mile trail brings users through historical landmarks, scenic vistas, recreation spots, and places to eat and shop.The report’s analysis considers both the (1) impact of current trail usage; and (2) impacts of a hypothetical trail expansion scenario that results in new construction spending and trail usage.  Click here to read the 18 page report.

  • 3)   An op-ed from 2020 regarding the expansion of the motorized rail trail in the Littleton area raised an interesting question about how ATVs on rail trails affect the community. A good question, and one that deserves an honest answer. We need to look at how management decisions impact the whole community, who will be most affected, those who would use the resource, and of course the economic potential.      Click here to read the article

  • 4 )  Proposed Rail-Trail Franklin to Weirs Beach Economic Study October 2019  This technical report contains the results of a cost-benefit analysis for a proposed rail-trail project that would close three gaps in the proposed trail network between Franklin and Weirs Beach in Belknap County, New Hampshire. The goal of the cost-benefit analysis was to analyze the known economic tradeoffs of constructing a proposed “rail-with-trail” alternative or a proposed “rail-to-trail” alternative to close the remaining 0.7-mile, 5.1-mile, and 4.7-mile gaps in the trail network. Realization of the network would connect the communities of Franklin, Tilton, Northfield, Belmont, and Laconia through a continuous, 18.8-mile rail- trail.1 In addition, closing these gaps would help connect these communities to the larger, 66.1-mile Northern Rail Trail, providing residents with multi-county recreation and transportation opportunities.