Trail tribute

National event celebrates paths that put people outdoors 

The Cape Elizabeth Land Trust (CELT), which this year celebrates its 25^th anniversary, recently announced a $1.1 million purchase plan to acquire 63 acres next to Robinson Woods. This, said Chris Franklin, the group’s executive director, is the longest remaining link needed to implement the original municipal greenbelt plan first drafted more than 35 years ago.

“The original goal of that plan,” said Dena DeSena, chairwoman of the town’s conservation commission, “was to ensure that people could walk from one end of Cape Elizabeth to the other, with every home in town no more than a 15-minute walk from a trail. Our trail system is so good now that we are almost there.”

That statement would hold just as true in South Portland and Scarborough, where efforts through the years have likewise created an impressive system of trails that run through and connect the communities, to each other and the rest of the East Coast. And as National Trails Day comes Saturday, June 4, the groups that maintain those trails are planning special events, and preparing for a busy year that includes more trails, and more ways to enjoy them.

For example, the South Portland Land Trust (SPLT) has recently rehired its former director, Jon Doré, as it gears up for “one of its busiest couple of years ever.” Projects include the planned release of a new trail map by month’s end and attempts to complete new trails linking the Clark’s Pond Trail to the Maine Mall and the new kayak launch off Westbrook Street, as well as continued work to extend the Greenbelt Walkway to Scarborough.

And in Scarborough, trail construction will be a “larger part of our activities in the coming year,” according to Jack Anderson, president of the Scarborough Land Conservation Trust (SLCT).

NATIONAL TRAILS DAY

The goal of the day, which is sponsored by the American Hiking Society, is to bring awareness to trail systems, acknowledge the hard work done by agencies and individuals to create and maintain trails and to introduce people to the many joys and benefits of trails.

Locally, the Eastern Trail Alliance is hosting a guided nature walk along the Scarborough Marsh on Trails Day, while the Scarborough Land Conservation Trust will organize volunteer work groups to maintain trails at its 220-acre Fuller Farm property, off Broadturn Road.

John Andrews, president of the Eastern Trail Alliance, said the benefits of trails in helping people get exercise and build bonds with each other cannot be overstated.

“[Trails provide] no cost, healthy exercise and help build stronger and healthier families,” he said. “Breathing fresh air, listening to the crunch of gravel and twigs underfoot, feeling the breeze in the pines and hearing the call of song birds, is a refreshing, clean pleasure.”

Andrews also said trail users share a common bond and friendships are often forged along the trail.

“[On a trail] strangers get to meet face-to-face and often develop friendships,” he said. “Years ago I realized I'd never met anyone above 4,000 feet that I did not like. It's pretty much the same the Eastern Trail. Great people enjoy trails.”

This is the 19^th year that the American Hiking Society has held National Trails Day, according to Heather Sable, the society’s trail programs manager.

She said the event was created as the result of a report issued in 1987 by the president's Commission on Americans Outdoors, which recommended that all Americans should be able to go out their front door and within 15 minutes find trail systems to use and enjoy.

“We really see the day as a celebration of trails across the country and a reason for people to get outside and see what their local trails have to offer,” Sable said.

The day has brought greater awareness of trails to thousands of people over the years and events have included, hikes, bike and horse rides, paddle trips, new trail dedications and many other activities, she said.

Sable also said the day is often used by people to give back to their communities. For instance, she said, many events on National Trails Day are tied to trail maintenance projects.

“The whole idea is stewardship, of taking care of land once you acquire it,” said Anderson, of the Scarborough Land Conservation Trust, noting that the group owns, either outright or through conservation easements, more than 1,000 acres of land.

“It is very complex stuff that people don’t tend to think of when it comes time to buy the property,” said Anderson. “It’s not just maintenance but also incredible amounts of paperwork. You can’t just acquire land and forget about it.”

Sable said there are events going in all 50 states on June 4, as well as in Canada, although not every local organization has officially registered its plans with the American Hiking Society.

According to the society, there are 200,000 miles of trails in the United States that allow access to the natural world for the purposes of recreation, education, exploration, solitude, inspiration and much more.

“[Trails help maintain] good physical and mental health by providing [people] with a chance to breathe fresh air, get [their] hearts pumping and escape from [their] stresses,” the American Hiking Society website states.

“With obesity rates skyrocketing, exercise is increasingly important and trails provide a wide variety of opportunities for being physically active,” the website added.

ACTING LOCALLY

The Eastern Trail Alliance is made up of a group of people in southern Maine working to support the creation of the Eastern Trail, which will eventually run from Portsmouth, N.H., to South Portland. It’s also part of the larger East Coast Greenway project, which will connect Maine and Florida on a 2,500-mile trail system.

The Eastern Trail is a mostly on-road trail, although there are several miles of off-road sections in communities such as South Portland, Scarborough and Saco. Right now the trail runs 80 miles, from Bug Light Park in South Portland to Kittery.

The newest section of the Eastern Trail is a five-mile, off-road connection between Biddeford and Kennebunk.

According to the Eastern Trail Alliance website, the trail is being built along the old Eastern Railroad corridor. The railroad was the first to connect Boston to Portland and operated from 1842 until 1944.

“Ultimately, the Eastern Trail will be a mostly off-road greenway, free from noise and air pollution, where Maine families and visitors of all skill levels will enjoy Maine's quiet, natural beauty,” the website states.

In South Portland, one planned Trails Day event has been moved to Saturday, Sept. 10, due to a scheduling conflict of its annual guide, City Councilor Tom Blake said. The “Hidden Jewels of South Portland” tour starts at the Bug Light and takes in sites in the city that, Doré said, “hardly anybody knows about, but which are very nice.” 

The two other big South Portland Land Trust trail walks, Doré said, are on 9 a.m., Saturday, July 7, when board member Helen Slocum will lead a walk from Spring Point Lighthouse to Fort Preble, and Aug. 13, when the group’s vice president, Steve Jocher, will guide hikers around Barberry Woods.

“That’s an area of South Portland, near across Barberry Creak from the cemetery, which the city of Portland actually owns, but which it does not intend to use to expand its cemetery,” said Doré. “We like to show people those spectacular areas in South Portland which hardly anyone knows about and we are trying to open up the perimeter of the cemetery to public use. If we can come to an agreement with the city of Portland, it could be very nice.”

“Our goal is to get 20 miles of trails in the near future,” said Doré. “Our estimate is that we have 14 or 15 miles right now.”

In Cape Elizabeth, trails have grown to about 16 miles, prior to the upcoming Robinson Woods-area purchase. The growth is thanks, in part, to the recent donation of 71 acres known as Winnick Woods.

“We’ve grown in the last two years by a lot,” said DeSena, noting that roughly 923 acres of Cape Elizabeth (abut 10 percent of the town) is now under easements owned by the municipality.

“People use those trails from all over,” she said. “It’s not just Cape Elizabeth residents. I find people there from Cumberland, Falmouth and everywhere, really.

“It is very important for the town to have these open spaces, where people can go see nature,” said DeSena, of the drive to expand the trail network throughout the tri-town area. 

“It’s more than just tree-hugging. When trails are available and well-maintained, it also increases property values.”

“Honoring the outdoors is part of the culture of Maine,” said Bob Shafto, ombudsman for Falmouth’s open space program, at the annual Scarborough Land Conservation Trust meeting last week. “We think of that as a civic responsibility. Even when people don’t use the term ‘environmentalists,’ necessarily, but they sure care about the outdoor. That’s part of what it means to be a Mainer, at least to me, and I think to a lot of people.

“We have spectacular places, important places, environmentally important places, places that need to be protected for future generations in our communities,” said Shafto. “We’re going to lose what we have. It’s an alien idea in a lot of Maine, but in the area of New Jersey where I grew up, you cannot find a vacant lot within 10 miles of the house I grew up in. It’s all completely gone, because they never thought of open space, they only thought of development and still the taxes are sky high.

“That’s not a future I want,” said Shafto, “and that’s why the work of your local land trust is such important work.”

(Kate Irish Collins provided additional reporting for this story.)