BINGHAM, Maine — People in the town of Bingham are frustrated following a land dispute that has disrupted land owners and businesses alike, leaving questions on both sides as to who the land belongs to.
Rail bed trail ITS 87 runs along one side of the Kennebec River, and has been used by the public for hiking, skiing, ATV-ing in the summer, and snowmobiling in the winter.
The trail has been kept by former trail master and co-owner of 201 Power Sports, Scott Newton, who relies on the trail's access for his customers.
He said a handful of surrounding businesses, like his, are being disrupted by the dispute.
"These are folks who can't move their assets, they're effectively shut down until this is resolved," Newton said. "Impact is too great for us to sit by and hope that this gets settled in court."
Newton is also a part of the Valley Riders Snowmobile Club. In the past, he said he's tried his best to respect the rules of the trail and the adjacent landowners.
"From the stress of all of this, when is enough, enough? When does this all stop?" Newton said.
Landowners like Justin Carl claim to own the land all the way up to the Kennebec River, which includes the rail trail. According to Central Maine Power, they had the rights to the land up until a few weeks ago, when it was gifted to the state.
"In some of our cases, we have hired lawyers who said 'no, you own the land free and simple,'" Carl said. "I just want to own my own property, I don't want someone to take it away from me!"
Newton said the biggest concern on his end is safety, after dealing with multiple incidents of obstructions along the trail, allegedly placed by the landowners.
"What we're having a hard time accepting is that the public's safety keeps getting put at risk over and over, and we're being told from the State of Maine that our hands are tied," Newton said.
George Mather, who came up to Bingham from Massachusetts, came across a caution tape last Monday that was strung across the rail bed while he was out snowmobiling with his family.
"You think it's innocent, but it's not. It's definitely strong enough to whip you off of the sled," Mather said.
There is now a civil lawsuit underway between the landowners and the state, but it's unclear who has the final say when it comes to accessing the trail.
The Maine Snowmobile Association said the dispute has been frustrating on all sides.
"Over ninety percent of our trails are by private land owners and we have an agreement with those folks; they sign an agreement at the beginning of the season," President Al Swett said.
"[It's] a big communication problem between the state and the land owner. If CMP handed that land over to us, back to the state, the state should be up there letting us get back to normal and making sure those businesses don't go out of business."