Scout Blazes Trail to Cannon Property

Due to the efforts of a local scout, the public now has an access point to a parcel of open space the town purchased in 2008. 

Friday morning, local officials and Harrison Wasserbauer, a member of Canton Boy Scout Troop 177, started near 160 Robin Drive and walked some 1,400 feet to the edge of the 140-acre Cannon Property, which will eventually contain a trail as well.

Along the way, Wasserbauer pointed out some features of the Eagle Scout Project, such as the erosion bars built into the steeper parts of the trail.

To ensure the trail was on town property and to discuss future options, Town Planner Neil Pade and Assistant Planner Roland Klee checked maps and Chief Administrative Officer Robert Skinner gathered GPS coordinates during the hike. 

“It’s a nice trail,” Skinner told Wasserbauer. “You did a real good job.”

The access has been a long time coming for the town.

The Cannon property was purchased in 2008 for $959,000. A then Department of Environmental Protection open space grant of $450,000 was awarded to help fund the purchase. However, the agency felt there wasn't adequate public access to the property and despite various proposals from the town, withheld the funds for years.

Earlier this year, the problem was finally solved when the Canton Land Conservation Trust offered three parcels of about 11 acres that provided a way into the property from Robin Drive. In April, voters accepted the gift and in recent weeks, the town received the funds via a wire transfer.

Wasserbauer had intended to work on a project in Simsbury but it fell through. He then talked to Canton Police Chief Christopher Arciero about possibilities. Arciero contacted the town and Wasserbauer accepted the idea to work on the trail.

From there he worked with Pade, Klee and land trust director Charlie DeWeese on a location for the trail.

And recently over three days, Wasserbauer worked with fellow scouts, school friends and a few others on the trail. He said it was done in the least impactful way possible, removing small trees and brush when necessary but leaving larger trees.

“I made a trail that I thought was the least environmentally hazardous,” he said.

When Wasserbauer achieves his Eagle rank, he will follow in the footsteps of his  brother Perry, who accomplished the feat a few years ago.

“I guess you can say it runs in the family,” he said.

With the trail complete, the town may eventually provide a few parking spaces at the trailhead or a parcel across the street. Anyone who wants to walk it should look for the wooden sign along the trail and be careful not to walk what appears to be an old logging road nearby.

And for now, the trail ends at the edge of the Cannon property but the plan is to eventually extend it into the open space parcel. 

Skinner said anyone who is interested in helping with such an effort, can call his office at 860-693-7837.