Stronghold, Inc., released the following statement, regarding their decision to consider closing general public access to Sugarloaf Mountain, private property which Stronghold owns and operates.
“We are very appreciative of the calls, emails, and greetings we have received since we had to tell our community that we will be closing the mountain to the general public should the council decide to pass the Sugarloaf Treasured Landscape Management Plan as it is currently written. The calls we have received have been supportive and understanding of our position and what we need to do to preserve the mountain as Gordon Strong has laid out for us.
“Rick Weldon said it best in the simplest terms we’ve read in a recent Facebook post:
‘Regarding the whole controversy surrounding the Sugarloaf Treasured Area Plan and the potential closure of the mountain to the public, I’ve been asking one simple question:
If the Stronghold nonprofit land trust has proven their documented commitment to maintain the lands around the mountain under their care, if they’ve demonstrated a generational commitment to protecting the natural environment of Sugarloaf, then why does the County government feel compelled to implement a restrictive new overlay on that same land?
‘Put simply, Stronghold is the best steward of their own land holdings. The Webster family has shown us all that they, not the County planning bureaucracy, are the unquestionable proper stewards of the Sugarloaf Mountain.
‘(An) new overlay could jeopardize the value of their holdings, making it more difficult to maintain, to protect against liability, and to subject them to undue scrutiny for their existing operation.
‘In an argument over who is better informed, better equipped and better able to maintain Sugarloaf Mountain in the fashion they have for decades, I’d choose Stronghold every day over the County government bureaucracy.’
“We are moved by the outpouring of positive posts and comments from Rick and so many others. As we await the action by the county, please know that we have maintained Sugarloaf Mountain for decades with the utmost integrity, care and concern for the land. There’s no question that we are the best to care for it in the decades to come per Gordon Strong’s wishes.
“We hope the council does the right thing and lets us maintain our private property as we have for the last nearly eight decades, and we can see you on Gordon Strong’s Sugarloaf Mountain soon.”