Excerpts from Field Notes on
Illegal Off-Road Vehicle Use
Today I walked the length of FR 307 from the lower end, near the Robert Scott house in Glastenbury, to its end. Tracks indicate the entire length of the road is used by ATVs, but I took few photos of tracks because they were eroded by recent rains to the point they would not photograph well.
At the start, FR 307 is marked by a sign as a public highway for which the town takes no responsibility for construction, maintenance or repair; there is no indication where the public right of way ends, though history and common sense suggests it ends at Fayville, since the road has a gate 275 feet beyond the bridge over Fayville Branch at Fayville. The gate is no longer in use.
The road is littered with trash, mostly beer bottles, all the way to Fayville. There is much less litter beyond Fayville, but it never completely disappears.
A sign announcing the purchase by the United States government of 4,000 acres of land marks the boundary of national forest land at N 43 degrees 00.608’, W 73 degrees 06.510’ (limit of accuracy 24 feet). (Other Green Mountain National Forest boundaries the road crosses are not marked.)
FR 307A leaves FR 307 bearing approximately 345 degrees magnetic. It shows no signs of recent use by wheeled vehicles.
At N 43 degrees 01.382’, W 73 degrees 05.538 (33 feet) FR 311 joins FR 307. FR 311 ends in about 0.2 miles at a hunting camp at N 43 degrees 01.496’, W 73 degrees 05.512’ (26 feet). This camp, which later inquiry revealed is on a private inholding, is not shown on the topographic map.
On the driveway leading to the camp is a junction (N 43 degrees 01.475’, W 73 degrees 05.439’ (63 feet)) with what appears to be a free-lance (non-VAST) snowmobile trail bearing approximately 60 degrees magnetic. I followed it for a short distance (to N 43 degrees 01.548’, W 73 degrees 05.350’ (43 feet)). This apparent travelway shows no evidence of wheeled travel, but is clear of large brush, logs and other obstacles as far as I followed it.
The snowmobile trail to MacIntyre and Kelley Stand joins FR 307 at N 43 degrees 01.063’, W 73 degrees 05.576’ (24 feet).
The graveled portion of FR 307 ends at a stump dump at N 43 degrees 00.820’, W 73 degrees 04.482’ (23 feet) at an indicated elevation of 2,400 feet. A skid trail bearing approximately 17 degrees magnetic continues, trending downhill. It shows the passage of an occasional dirt bike and has only a few beer cans. The map shows this skid trail making a loop extending to within a quarter mile of MacIntyre. I followed it to N 43 degrees 00.923’, W 73 degrees 04.442’ (19 feet) at an indicated elevation of 2,317 feet.
Photo Identifications
1: Litter on FR 307 on the way to Fayville.
2: Trash at a pulloff on FR 307 on the way to Fayville (on Trenor Scott land).
3: Fire ring at a pulloff on FR 307 on the way to Fayville (on Trenor Scott land).
4: Fire ring and trash at Fayville (on Trenor Scott land).
5: Warning sign at bridge over Fayville Branch, perforated with bullet holes.
6: Gate, 275 feet beyond bridge over Fayville Branch; unused for a long time.
7: Sign where FR 307 crosses Green Mountain National Forest boundary just beyond Fayville.
8: ATV track on FR 307; on Green Mountain National Forest land.
9: ATV track on the bottom of a puddle on FR 307; on Green Mountain National Forest land.
10: Stump dump at the end of FR 307. N 43 degrees 00.820’, W 73 degrees 04.482’ (23 feet)
11: End of FR 307. N 43 degrees 00.820’, W 73 degrees 04.482’ (23 feet)
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