46 EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 344 



sponsored by the County, but financed largely by federal PWA funds. 

 This public area, recently opened, serves residents from a wide territory, 

 and during the winter it attracts large week-end skiing crowds from 

 cities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. A number of summer resi- 

 dents in Sanbornton reported personal use and enjoyment of the area 

 for skiing during winter week-end visits to their vacation homes. 



The lesser items of town expenditures were not affected greatly by 

 the demands of summer people. Most of the indebtedness of the towns 

 was incurred for road improvement and the purchase of highway equip- 

 ment, and thus was due to summer resident demands to the same extent 

 as were road service costs. Fire protection was more common than 

 police protection but the expenditures for both were small. Only Frances- 

 town and Tuftonboro maintained fire apparatus. Tuftonboro recent- 

 ly bought new apparatus through the combined efforts of summer and 

 year-round residents. Summer homes in all towns were posted and pro- 

 tected during periods of vacancy by a State Police patrol, and Tufton- 

 boro summer residents hired a private patrolman on a commercial fee 

 basis, thus relieving the town of police service costs. 



In general, the present problems of taxation, administration, and per- 

 formance of town services are attributable to the local government situa- 

 tion as a whole. Few, and only minor, difficulties of local government 

 have arisen from the development of recreational resources. Instead, 

 the bolstering of the tax base and the decrease in functions desired by 

 summer residents as compared with local residents have prevented the 

 serious fiscal difficulties with which New England towns without recrea- 

 tional development have been faced. The decline in agricultural and 

 other economic activity would have taken place and gone even further, 

 with more drastic impact on local government finance and function, had 

 not properties been transferred to recreational use. 



CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 



Analysis of the summer home development in Francestow n, San- 

 bornton, and Tuftonboro indicates that in general the recreational use of 

 land in New Hampshire should be encouraged. It should, however, be 

 guided by considered public and private action and subjected to social 

 controls to produce the maximum benefits to the community. 



Recommendations of policy are made with caution. Many of the 

 adjustments that are suggested require changes in fundamental habits, 

 prejudices, and local institutions. These changes cannot be made quick- 

 ly. Some will be judged impossible or undesirable. Most of the sug- 

 gestions have been tried in some localities, however, and in many cases 

 have proved their value. 



Promotion and Control 



Real estate agents have played an important part in bringing pro- 

 spective summer residents to New Hampshire towns. The New Hamp- 



