Drumroll Please… Announcing the third annual ‘Love Maine Trails Month’ Award Winners
Loon Echo Land Trust volunteers celebrate a new trail at the Crooked River Forest in Harrison. Photo Credit: Loon Echo Land Trust
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BATH, ME 8/28/2024 — The Maine Trails Coalition (MTC) is delighted to announce the Love Maine Trails Month (LMTM) award winners. The third annual Love Maine Trails Month took place this June at trail locations all across the state. LMTM is a month of statewide events bringing people and organizations together to care for Maine’s beloved trails. Participating groups included trail-maintaining organizations, trail clubs, land trusts, municipalities and community groups. LMTM draws visibility to the substantial resources and effort required to maintain trails we know and love in all corners of Maine.
This June during Love Maine Trails Month, approximately 57 miles trail were improved and 2+ miles of new trail were built. Over 486 volunteers gave 2,800+ volunteer hours to these projects with their labor being valued at $93,805 based on the Independent Sector volunteer rate. Approximately 57 staff and interns contributed 1,626 hours to stewardship projects this June.
There were over 73 Love Maine Trails Month stewardship events organized by 32+ groups and partnering organizations. Many events were listed on the Maine Trail Finder event calendar. LMTM trail stewardship opportunities aim to be beginner-friendly and open to anyone interested in learning about trail maintenance, and they were led by hosts like local land trusts, community groups, municipalities and conservation districts.
The Love Maine Trails Month Awards are one way the Maine Trails Coalition aims to support the work of groups across the state that improve and create trail opportunities. LMTM is made possible thanks to event hosts and their partners, volunteers, the MTC Stewardship Work Group, Maine Trail Finder, and support from the Onion Foundation. In total, MTC distributed $5,000 to five participating groups chosen at random.
Recipients of the 2024 Love Maine Trails Month Awards include the Appalachian Mountain Club - Maine Chapter, Blue Hill Heritage Trust, Kennebec Messalonskee Trails, Inc., Loon Echo Land Trust and York Land Trust.
The Appalachian Mountain Club - Maine Chapter hosted several trail stewardship events for National Trails Day (first Saturday each June) partnering with Great Pond Mountain Conservation Trust, Midcoast Conservancy and a hosting a work trip nearby AMC’s Gorman Chairback Lodge near Greenville. The Gorman Chairback crew worked to remove blowdowns, prune brush, clear drainages, and other trail maintenance on 10 plus miles of trails in the Appalachian Club's Maine Woods. Participants were from all over Maine, as well as from Connecticut and Pennsylvania. One participant received a new trail worker scholarship and another attended through a new trail work leader fellowship.
The Kennebec Messalonskee Trails organized a trash cleanup on a more urban section of trail in Winslow. Participants and board members found less trash than anticipated (which is a good thing), and they plan to strengthen partnerships with community groups and landowners to ensure continued efforts are successful in keeping the trail clean and safe for the public. Kennebec Messalonskee Trails works to maintain quality trails along waterways that connect and enhance the communities of Waterville, Winslow, Benton, Fairfield, and Oakland, Maine.
The Blue Hill Heritage Trust tended to some deferred maintenance tasks, and over two days, their volunteers and staff were able to prepare the Snow's Cove Preserve trailhead for a larger parking area. Additionally, they resurfaced the beginning of the existing trail and added a new informational kiosk.
Andrew Czwakiel, Land Steward for the Blue Hill Heritage Trust explained that, “trail stewardship is important to our organization as we have more and more folks using our trails. With this, we need to keep up with increased erosion and use of the trails, whether that be resurfacing a trail, providing more parking space for visitors or simply making sure our kiosks are up to date and accurate.”
Loon Echo Land Trust organized three LMTM events at Crooked River Forest, Rolfe Hill and Bald Pate Mountain. At one event, 11 volunteers pitched in to convert a snowshoe trail into a year-round trail at Crooked River Forest in Harrison. The new section of trail creates a loop trail that was used fora trail running race this August. The efforts on their trails will benefit hikers, mountain bikers, trail runners, and ATVers.
Lastly, the York Land Trust (YLT) hosted several LMTM events focused on annual maintenance and on storm recovery, focusing on blowdown removal, brushing & lopping, as well as trail corridor maintenance, and wayfind improvements. They did deploy a highly trained volunteer crew to do a second round of blowdown clearing to tackle the more challenging downed trees. For YLT, trails provide an opportunity to show visitors what a reciprocal relationship with nature can look like. However, recruitment for trail work projects, especially in summer, can be a challenge.
Liz Walworth, Stewardship Director of York Land Trust stated, “we struggled to get the number of volunteers we were looking for despite posting across multiple platforms.”
All trails rely on dedicated volunteers, and highly-trained staff and interns whether they are motorized or non-motorized trails on both land and water. Maintaining trails isn’t getting any easier as resources are often limited, use is increasing, and the impacts of severe storms and wet weather in 2023 and early 2024 set organizations back on annual maintenance, deferred maintenance and other capital projects, while increasing their costs and project load.
“The wet spring, summer, and fall last year that led to the December 18th flooding opened our eyes to the fact that we thought we knew our trails, but we were wrong. Since then, we have placed trail stewardship at the top of our list and not just "for now”, but for now and into the future. If our current trails are not durable and sustainable, we have no business continuing to build new ones. Balancing trail maintenance with new trail build is key to overall success of providing an interconnected network of trails for all to enjoy,” emphasized Karla Leandri Rider of Inland Woods + Trails.
Communities come together over trails during LMTM, forging partnerships and bringing people across all ages and trail-user types together. Events such as “Love Ragged Mountain Day” organized by Camden Parks and Recreation saw over 38 volunteers pitch in thanks to collaboration with Trail Runners of Mid-Coast Maine, Mid-Coast New England Mountain Bike Association, Mid-Coast Trail Stewardship, Ragged Mountain Ski Patrol and Mountain Ambassadors and Coastal Mountain Land Trust.
“These numbers are just a fraction of the full amount of labor involved in caring for the trails in Maine this June. Trail maintenance happens year round, and the need for additional maintenance and considerations for sustainable, more durable trails is only increasing. Many of the participating groups indicated that they do struggle to recruit dedicated volunteers, which is nothing new, but is still concerning,” stated Silvia Cassano, Project Coordinator for the Maine Trails Coalition.
“Trail building and maintenance is a trade. There are several programs and youth corps in Maine that are training and employing the next generation of trail stewards, which is important, because the demand for their skills is high in Maine and throughout the US. Trails are not only an economic driver for our communities, they are linear parks, often free of charge, connecting people to places, each other and the environment, providing numerous health benefits. Trails connect habitats while offering climate resilient infrastructure solutions if they are planned, funded and maintained to a set standard.”
If you or your organization would like to get involved with Love Maine Trails Month, please visit MaineTrailsCoalition.org to learn more and get involved.
Maine Trails Coalition (MTC) was formed in 2019 as a statewide voice for trail users, supporters, and advocates. MTC's mission is to champion the establishment, use, and stewardship of trails in Maine. The MTC is committed to advancing the trails movement on behalf of the communities and people who live, work, and visit Maine. ###
The first 10 photos show volunteer efforts during LMTM from LMTM Award Winning organizations (and a few extra photos for good measure).
2024 Love Maine Trails Month Event Hosts & Participants
Androscoggin Land Trust
Appalachian Mountain Club - Maine Chapter (and partners: Midcoast Conservancy, Great Pond Mountain Conservation Trust, etc)
Blue Hill Heritage Trust
Bonney Woods Corporation/ Powderhouse Hill Trails
Camden Parks and Recreation, and partners: Trail Runners of Mid-Coast Maine, Mid-Coast NEMBA, Mid-Coast Trail Stewardship, Ragged Mountain Ski Patrol and Mountain Ambassadors and Coastal Mountain Land Trust
Cape Elizabeth Land Trust
City of Ellsworth
Downeast Lakes Land Trust
Falmouth Land Trust
Freeport Conservation Trust
Friends Of Lower Kenduskeag Stream
Georges River Land Trust
Hirundo Wildlife Refuge
Inland Woods + Trails
Loon Echo Land Trust
Kennebec Land Trust
Kennebec Messalonskee Trails, Inc.
Mahoosuc Land Trust
Maine Appalachian Trail Club (MATC)
Maine Island Trail Association (MITA) and many partners including, Hog Island Outward Bound School
Maine Chapter-International Appalachian Trail
Mount Agamenticus Conservation Program
New England Mountain Bike Association - Central ME Chapter
Northern Forest Canoe Trail
Outdoor Movement Project
Portland Trails
Portland Youth Corps
Presumpscot Regional Land Trust
The Nature Conservancy
York Land Trust
