By Lisa Romano

Massachusetts is crisscrossed with trails—footpaths, bikepaths, snowmobile routes—that connect our varied landscapes. They allow us to get from place to place off the pavement and out of our cars, to see firsthand and not through a window what makes our place unique. They also connect us more intimately, giving us the chance to interact with each other and each other’s land more like neighbors in a time when the idea of common land was a defining characteristic of New England.

With the Massachusetts landscape divided up as a patchwork of family lands, public parks and forests, and corporate holdings, much cooperation is required in order for regional trails to be successful. A privacy loving, and at times litigious, culture, we’re not always immediately inclined to offer public access to our private property. And yet at the same time, many of us benefit from those landowners  who do provide us access, often without even knowing who is to thank for it.

The Mahican-Mohawk Trail, currently 25 miles of mixed use trail between the Deerfield and Hoosac rivers, follows a historic native American path. Envisioned as a 100-mile trail connecting the Connecticut and Hudson rivers, development of the trail is an ongoing project, and relies on many landowners to provide access on their property for the path. Still patchy along some of its current 25 miles, the trail has lost public access in some spots, while gaining new access in others. Recently, an important connection was made, a new bridge between two segments of the trail that will allow hikers to enjoy longer stretches of the trail without having to wade through a river, or turn back from high water.

Christened “Polly’s Crossing” after tireless bridge advocate Polly Bartlett of Buckland, the bridge spans the South River, just above its confluence with the Deerfield River, in Conway. “It could not be more beautiful,” Polly declared shortly after the bridge’s unveiling, describing the 130-foot span that was funded by TransCanada Power Company (who owns most of the land around the bridge), the Fields Pond Foundation, DCR Greenways program, among others. After several design setbacks due to the challenging location of the crossing in a steep gorge, a decade of Polly’s efforts to keep the project alive finally paid off with the opening of the fiberglass bridge 30 feet above the river earlier this summer. “Now people can walk across the bridge and enjoy the views both up and down the South River to the Connecticut,” says Polly.

Rivers like the South, which regional trails must cross periodically, represent a significant challenge to the continuity of trail systems. Even with money in the bank, and dedicated people working on the project, it still can take years for a crossing to finally be built. The other major challenge is, of course, gaining access to the private lands trails must use if they are to stretch for any significant distance in the northeast, where most of the land is privately held by many different landowners. Concerns about liability and loss of privacy are the most commonly cited reasons landowners hesitate to provide access.

In a recent conversation with John Herron, a farmer and woodland owner in Deerfield who has allowed the Mahican-Mohawk Trail to cross his property since the trail was first built, he explained that he and his wife, Joanne, “are happy to share their land with people who enjoy wildlife and nature.” Though he chose not to legally grant permanent access to the trail to DCR, he couldn’t name anything that would make him one day deny public access. Though the Herrons have had problems on other parts of their property with people on all terrain vehicles, they’ve only had a positive experience with the trail, agreeing that people using it respect the private lands it goes through.

For most people, the privacy concerns of public trail access can be alleviated by locating the trail away from their home and out of sight of where they spend most of their time on the propery.  Some landowners also worry that if they allow continuous access to their property, it may eventually turn into a legal easement, in which the access becomes permanent under the jurisdiction of the state.  The only way, however, trail access can become an easement is if the landowner chooses to sign over that right. It can not be taken from them.

The biggest concern of many landowners regards liability, should a hiker hurt themselves while on their property. According to DCR, MGL Chapter 21, Section 17C limits a landowner’s vulnerability to law suits (see www.mass.gov/dcr/stewardship/greenway/newsletter.htm#ptpl  and www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/21-17c.htm for more information). In most cases, landowners are relieved of liability, except in cases deemed “willful, wanton, or reckless” by the landowner. What this means is that if a hiker breaks an ankle on a loose rock while hiking on your property, you should not be liable. If, however, a hiker falls into a large pit you dug in the middle of the trail, then it is likely you could be deemed responsible. Except in rare cases, liability is not something landowners interested in allowing public access to their property need to be concerned about.

For more information on allowing access to your property, finding funding for trail building, or to locate Massachusetts’ regional trails, visit the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Greenways and Trails program at www.mass.gov/dcr/stewardship/greenway/index.htm. In the meantime, get out and enjoy the great trail resources provided by your neighbors!