'Nobody's trying to be a Scrooge.' Lobster trap tree fight boils

Hannah Morse, The Patriot Ledger

Fri, December 5, 2025 at 4:56 PM UTC

3 min read

The organizer of Hull’s lobster trap tree is hoping for a resolution on Friday, Dec. 5, days after the town’s building inspector closed off public access to the structure’s interior.

While the tree is still able to be viewed from the outside, nearly 300 people have signed a petition to open the entrance again.

Justin Goodwin and a group of volunteers completed Hull’s third annual lobster trap tree at Mariners Park during the final weekend of November.

This year, the group included an entryway so that spectators could see the tree from the inside. Similar lobster trap trees in Gloucester and Stonington, Connecticut include this feature.

Just days after the tree was finished, though, building inspector Bartley Kelly put up “KEEP OUT” notices and an orange safety fence blocking this entryway.

Goodwin heard through word of mouth, not from the town, that the tree's entrance had been blocked. He said he had difficulty getting in touch with Kelly, and when he finally did, Goodwin said he was disappointed with the interaction.

More: Unique holiday display gets building inspector visit. What happened

“I want to solve the issue. I wanted to make it right and proceed in such a way that the town’s happy and we’re happy,” Goodwin told The Patriot Ledger. He later was contacted by Town Manager Jennifer Constable, with whom he had a “more reasonable” discussion and planned to discuss next steps in further depth.

Hull’s lobster trap tree is made of about 360 lobster traps, also known as lobster pots, which each weigh 40 to 50 pounds. The structure is also decorated with buoys as ornaments and string lights.

Goodwin, a former lobster fisherman, acknowledged that during the group's first year of creating the display, some of the lobster traps had fallen off the tree due to high winds.

“We didn’t know what we were doing,” he said. “We didn’t zip-tie anything. We learned from that.”

The group now uses heavy-duty zip-ties ordered through a special company, he said, and “put a lot of effort into making the tree structurally sound.”

Goodwin said they decided to add a solid-wood entryway this year because they had seen the feature accomplished in other communities. Plus, that meant they would use fewer lobster traps overall.

He said he was not aware whether the other communities’ lobster trap trees with interior access required additional permits. The Patriot Ledger has reached out to officials in Gloucester and Stonington, Connecticut.

Some solutions he offered to the town included closing off access if winds reached a certain speed, or adding a sign that warned spectators to “enter at your own risk.” He just wants to get rid of the “ugly fencing,” he said.

During a Wednesday, Dec. 3, select board meeting, Constable reiterated the town’s appreciation for the holiday display. But she noted the town was not made aware of this year’s entryway feature and said it posed a liability, since it stands on town-owned land.

Constable said she learned through research that other communities require a permit and “some engineering work” but expressed interest in exploring how the entryway feature can be included in a future lobster trap tree.

“Nobody’s trying to be a Scrooge,” Constable said. “Nobody is trying to put a damper on it.”

Hannah Morse covers growth and development for The Patriot Ledger. Contact her at hmorse@patriotledger.com.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Will the Hull lobster trap tree entrance open again?

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