BRIDGTON — Loon Echo Land Trust (LELT) was recently awarded a Love Maine Trails Month Award of $1,000 by the Maine Trails Coalition. This award was given to five organizations that participated in the third annual Love Maine Trails Month (LMTM), which 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 trails.
Loon Echo Land Trust organized three LMTM events at Crooked River Forest in Harrison, Rolfe Hill in Casco and Bald Pate Mountain in Bridgton. 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 that was used for the Fluvial 5k trail running race in August and can now be enjoyed by hikers and runners year-round.
During Love Maine Trails Month, approximately 57 miles of 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. 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.
LELT will be hosting two volunteer workdays at Bald Pate Mountain on Friday, September 13 and Saturday, September 21 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. No experience is necessary, and all tools and training provided. Registration is required at lelt.org/events or by emailing Jon Evans at [email protected].
Loon Echo Land Trust (LELT), founded in 1987, is a nonprofit organization that protects land, ensures public access to the outdoors, and builds and maintains recreational trails in Raymond, Casco, Naples, Harrison, Sebago, Bridgton, and Denmark. The organization currently conserves over 9,300 acres of land and manages a 35-mile trail network across the Lake Region. For more information on LELT properties, upcoming events, or how to get involved, visit LELT.org or the Facebook page.