The Trustees of Reservations is under scrutiny once again after the Edgartown conservation commission found the regional land trust failed to properly demarcate oversand vehicle trails.

Town officials recently visited the Trustees’ properties on Chappaquiddick and found the organization had not installed fencing and signs mandated under town approvals granted in May. Although no penal action has been taken, the commission ordered the Trustees to immediately fix the issue and asked for an explanation in a meeting Wednesday.

Trustees Islands director Darci Schofield said the Trustees had been following past practices.

“We had fenced according to how we have historically fenced and how we described we would fence in the beach management plan submitted,” Ms. Schofield said.

Conservation agent Jane Varkonda and conservation assistant Kara Shemeth participated in the site visit earlier this month. Since then, the Trustees put in new signage and added wooden and metal stakes around most oversand vehicle trails, but it hasn’t joined the stakes with rope. Ms. Schofield said the delay was mostly due to preparations around the hurricane set to make landfall in New England this weekend.

“I wouldn’t say that I’m satisfied but I hear her explanation,” Ms. Varkonda told the commission. “We’ll see what happens after this weekend.”

The Trustees’ management of its Chappaquiddick properties, particularly its handling of overdsand vehicle access, has been a persistent subject of controversy this past year. The organization faced a series of contentious hearings with the conservation commission before it was granted permission to sell stickers for oversand vehicle access on its beachfront and wetland properties. The area is particularly popular for recreational fishing and shellfishing, drawing in up to 300 vehicle visitors per day in the summer. Oversand vehicle access is still prohibited north of the Jetties to the Gut.

This fall, the Trustees submitted an updated beach management plan alongside a new notice of intent to sell oversand vehicle stickers next year. Chairman Peter Vincent warned the infraction did not bode well for applications down the line.

“This failure to comply with this order does not reflect well on your ability to comply with future orders,” he said.