The nonprofit, which oversees miles of oversand vehicle trails on Chappaquiddick, is proposing to retire about 1,300 feet of trail along the bayside of Cape Pogue because it now regularly becomes inundated by Cape Pogue Bay. 

The Trustees of Reservations, which manages the miles of oversand vehicle trails on Chappaquiddick, must go through another layer of review, potentially bringing more scrutiny to the controversial pastime of driving trucks and SUVs out to the pristine beaches. 

A legal tug-of-war over Edgartown’s new rules for the Chappaquiddick oversand vehicle trails has broken out, with the nonprofit that manages the coastline and a citizen’s group both filing appeals with the state this week. 

The Edgartown conservation commission Wednesday voted to allow no more than 200 vehicles at a time on the Trustees’ Leland and Wasque parcels, and no more than 30 on the Cape Pogue trails.

This week, The Trustees of Reservations, the nonprofit that manages the 16 miles of Chappy trails, publicly objected to proposed regulations from the Edgartown conservation commission, saying the rules are not aligned with state environment law and instead were formed with local politics in mind.

The draft regulations proposed no more than 200 oversand vehicles at a time on the Leland and Wasque properties, and no more than 30 on the Cape Pogue trails.

I appreciate the technical, legal and subjective arguments over managing Chappaquiddick beaches to accommodate responsible over-sand vehicle (OSV) access.

Located on the furthest, most immaculate tip of Chappaquiddick, Cape Pogue Wildlife Refuge is home to salt marsh, coastal cedars, endangered shorebirds and some of the best recreational fishing the Vineyard has to offer.

For decades, the Trustees have sold permits allowing people to drive out to the sandy beaches of Chappaquiddick, a popular destination for swimming, fishing and shellfishing. But the practice has come under fire in recent years.

In a report to the select board Monday, the town’s parks department said it sold 2,079 oversand vehicle stickers for a total of $266,210 in revenue, about the same as the former stewards of the property.