The New England Mountain Bike Association Supports PHATS

January 20, 2022

NEMBA is a regional organization of mountain bikers with 10 chapters in Massachusetts. Our mission is to promote responsible mountain biking and to protect and preserve New England trails and open spaces. Plymouth falls within our SEMass chapter. Both regionally and locally we endorse the PHATS concept. The opportunity to create a permanently protected open space of this size in this century is almost beyond comprehension.

This area is currently enjoyed by many residents of Plymouth. Hikers, dog walkers, runners, cyclists, and equestrians are there every day. But because there is no formal entity managing them the trails have been maintained on an informal basis by the people who use them.

With the formal adoption of this plan NEMBA could become be part of these efforts.

The PHATS concept also includes promoting the town of Plymouth as a regional trail destination. This would result in a substantial increase in Plymouth’s tourism industry. Two good examples of this are Kingdom Trails in East Burke, VT, and Carrabassett Valley in Maine whose local economies benefit from tens of thousands of additional visitors every year.

I live nearby in Sandwich. I have spent many hours exploring this area and can’t tell you how personally excited I am about this. Thank you for the opportunity to comment.

Sincerely,

Bill Boles 

Director of Outreach
New England Mountain Bike Association