Selectmen gave the Weare ATV Club the green light to develop an all-terrain vehicle trail through the town forest and to use portions of two Class 6 roads to connect and broaden their trail system.

The approval granted the club about 500 feet of Melvin Valley Road and about 600 feet of Mary Hadley Road to use as connectors to ATV trails, as well as permission to develop a 5.8-mile trail through the town forest.

The vote was taken in two parts by all five selectmen. Four voted in favor of granting the use of the Class 6 roads, three voted in favor of the town forest trail. Selectman Doug Cook abstained from the votes after a resident questioned whether Cook had a conflict of interest in the matter because he is in the ATV business. Selectman Leon Methot cast the lone dissenting vote against the town forest trail, saying he wanted the town's residents to weigh in on the matter at Town Meeting.

The approval came after ATV Club members pledged to maintain the trails and allow only club members onto the system, and after some residents urged selectmen to refuse to allow the project to go forward.

The vote is contingent upon three stipulations: the club must provide proof of at least a $1 million insurance policy, the conservation commission must officially reaffirm its support of the project and the town forester, Robert Reeve, must sign off on the trail blazing.

The selectmen also have the power, under an ordinance created two years ago, to pull the plug on the trail use at any time if problems arise or residents complain.

"This is something that we need to look at," said selectman Laura Petrain. "The only way we're going to know if this works is to grant (approval)."

But some residents were unhappy with that theory.

"If you give a little bit, then they want a little bit more and a little bit more," said John Nikias. "I don't see where it's going to stop. They don't mean harm, but you're not just going to get the local guys, you'll get the out-of-staters."

And resident Gary Bisson argued that allowing ATVers use of the town forest was unfair, after trapping and hunting had been banned in the area years ago.

"The town forest is supposed to be a wildlife sanctuary," Bisson told selectmen. "Let's leave it a wildlife sanctuary so we do have a place to hunt in 10 or 15 years down the road."

Despite their concerns, selectmen said opening up about 5.8 miles of trail in the town forest would be beneficial for the town. The trails would span across about 200 acres of the 653-acre forest.

And club members said less trail cutting will have to be done after they discovered a trail has already been unofficially blazed by other ATVers using the forest.

"It's a very scenic trail, but not close enough to negatively impact wildlife," said Harry Brown, vice president of the ATV Club, who also offered the manpower ­ and machine power ­ of the club to police and fire officials who in the future might need help reaching a forest fire or searching for a lost or missing person.

Brown said he and other club members will pay close attention to who is on their trail. Riders who are not members of the club will be reported to the state Fish and Game Department, he said, and members will keep an eye out for litter or other problems. "Contrary to popular belief," he said. "Mud isn't always our favorite thing."

And while the town forest use dominated the debate, Nikias said he was concerned about ATVers using the Class 6 roads. "They will (kick up) dust and affect everyone in the area," he said.

In response, Brown said the nearest home in the area of the roads is about three-quarters of a mile away.

Other residents who spoke out at an earlier meeting said they were concerned about enforcement on the trails.

"Can we keep everybody out? No," said Brown. "But we're not asking for carte blanche here."

Cook said residents should all have access to town land and stressed that the town has enough land to accomodate all recreational uses.

"That land is just as much your land as it is their land," said Cook. "Not every single acre in this town can be pristine, there's got to be some give and take. We have hundreds and hundreds of acres that are protected under some kind of easement. We all need access to this land and I feel it's a good thing to open up town-owned land to our residents."