Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust Summer 2015 Newsletter Summer highlights inside REPI Challenge Grant Great Maine Outdr Weekend Hike Bard Member Prfile Prject Update Cmmunity Events And mre! Baxter Peak, Katahdin REPI Challenge Grant Awarded The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust is currently partnering with The Trust fr Public Land (TPL) n a number f cnservatin prjects in the High Peaks area f the Appalachian Trail in Western Maine. We are pleased t annunce that TPL has secured an additinal $2 millin in funding by winning a REPI Challenge grant frm the Department f Defense s Readiness and Envirnmental Prtectin Integratin prgram. The funds will be used t restrict develpment f nearly 10,000 acres arund the military Survival, Evasin, Resistance and Escape schl in western Maine, by the purchase f cnservatin easements ver lands arund the base. Maine A.T. Land Trust will be hlding a cnservatin easement ver Redingtn Frest and will be wrking clsely with TPL n additinal prjects. The SERE schl prvides pilts and ther select military persnnel the pprtunity t master the skills necessary fr survival in harsh envirnmental cnditins as well as enemy captivity. Accrding t the DD press release, the funds will help restrict develpment n 9,728 acres f timberlands that maintain a realistic, remte envirnment fr the Naval Shipyard Prtsmuth, Survival, Evasin, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) Schl in Redingtn Twnship, Maine. The Trust fr Public Land led a partnership that will help ensure necessary training cnditins fr the Navy while als prtecting wildlife habitat and wrking frests that supprt lcal jbs. Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust Awarded Davis Cnservatin Fundatin Grant Prtland, ME (August 7, 2015) The Davis Cnservatin Fundatin has awarded a grant f $12,000 t the Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust t supprt ur wrk n the Redingtn Frest prject. The funds will allw the land trust t prtect land alng Maine s Appalachian Trail via the acquisitin f a cnservatin easement ver the prject area. These much-needed funds will help defray the csts invlved in the easement acquisitin prcess legal wrk, GIS needs, persnnel, stewardship and ther assciated expenses. Much f this wrk has already started and prgress can be tracked by fllwing the news updates n the land trust website at matlt.rg. This grant allws Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust t fcus n the wrk needed t cmplete the prject, but it als serves as a catalyst grant fr ther dnrs, ensuring that the additinal funds needed fr Redingtn Frest can be secured. Thanks t the genersity f the Davis Cnservatin Fundatin, Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust expects t cnserve this valuable land alng the A.T. in early 2016. Page 1 Summer 2015 Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust matlt.rg (207) 808-2073
Great Maine Outdr Weekend September 25-27 A pht frm last year s Maine A.T. Land Trust GMOW hike, lking at the spt where this year s might be. The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust will be having anther hike fr the Great Maine Outdr Weekend this year. Last year s wildly successful Munt Abraham hike tk place n a ht, clear day, which made fr a nice cntrast with the fall fliage. Land trust Vice President Pete McKinley, a Wilderness Sciety eclgist and Clby Cllege alumnus, prvided insights int the rare natural cmmunities n the muntain, and we had a number f attendees frm the Clby Cllege Outing Club n hand. We are still in the planning stages f this year s event and hpe t make an annuncement sn. The Berry Pickers Trail a new A.T. side trail t the Saddleback Muntain ridgeline is currently under cnstructin and it will nt be finished in time fr a trip n the weekend f September 25 th. Please cntinue t check ur website at matlt.rg fr updates and infrmatin. Atlantic Salmn in the Sandy River Suth f the Appalachian Trail This still phtgraph is taken frm a vide sht by Maine A.T. Land Trust Vice President Pete McKinley in the Sandy River in Phillips, Maine. The land trust was able t gather this ftage f 4-year ld adult Atlantic Salmn wh have returned t the waters they were hatched in after a few years in the Atlantic Ocean. Paul Christman, Marine Scientist with the Maine Department f Marine Resurces, has spearheaded the planting f eggs in rder t ensure that Maine s rivers, including the Orbetn Stream, are filled with a healthy ppulatin f wild Salmn. T see the vide g t: https://www.yutube.cm/watch?v=4 YygTAYjfEw Page 2 Spring 2015 Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust matlt.rg (207) 808-2073
Meet Tny Barrett: Active Transprtatin & Land Cnservatin Advcate Tny Barrett in the Bigelw Range Hw did yu first hear abut the Maine A.T. Land Trust? Tm Lewis, the first Maine A.T. Land Trust President, asked me t jin in establishing the trust as a funding bard member in 2002. What made yu want t get invlved? After walking the A.T. in 1999, I had a greater appreciatin fr the fragility f the wilderness experience alng the A.T. and that the experience in Maine was especially unique. Fr the last 15 years, I have maintained a 4.2-mile sectin f the A.T. and have witnessed the sprawl develpment and ther threats that are changing that wilderness experience. Hw are yu invlved? I am a Bard vlunteer and a member f the Stewardship cmmittee f the Maine A.T. Land Trust. I am als n the Executive Cmmittee f the Maine Appalachian Trail Club and serve as a liaisn between the Maine AT Club and the Maine AT Land Trust. What is yur backgrund - where are yu frm? I graduated frm HS in Framingham, Massachusetts walking and riding n trails in the New England wds. Where did yu wrk prir t wrking in cnservatin? I wrked as a field gelgist fr the USGS fr ne field seasn ding surficial mapping in suthern NH. Then spent 21 years wrking in the petrleum industry, much f that wrk verseas. I nw wrk as a fishmnger (and a land cnservatin advcate). What made yu decide t wrk fr cnservatin rganizatins in Maine? Much f the realm f the A.T. further suth is prtected by public lands. In Maine, the crridr is very narrw with the risk f develpment always present. What kinds f wrk d yu d fr different cnservatin rganizatins? I am passinate abut trails and access t public lands. Withut peple visiting and experiencing land trust prperties, we will nt have the public supprt fr ur missin. I am n the stewardship cmmittee fr my lcal land trust and vlunteer fr trail wrk n a number f lcal land trusts. What d yu see as the mst imprtant issues in land cnservatin in Maine tday? 20% f the United States is cnservatin land. In Maine, nly 15% is cnserved land with less than half f that wned by the public. Yet much f the undevelped land in the Nrtheast lies in Maine. The A.T. can be the backbne fr muntain cnservatin utside Natinal Frests & Parks in New England. Withut this cnservatin wrk, much f the undevelped private land will succumb t sprawl (lw cncentratin) develpment spread ut acrss what is nw perceived as the wildest sectins f the regin. Page 3 Summer 2015 Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust matlt.rg (207) 808-2073
Summertime n Maine s Appalachian Trail Nte: All phts were taken n ne f Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust s mnthly hikes. T jin us, email us at inf@matlt.rg r give us a call at 207-808-2073! Bard f Directrs William Pluffe President Derek Markgren Treasurer Peter McKinley, Ph.D. Vice President Miltn Wright Secretary Page 4 Gerge N. Appell Tny Barrett Bb Cummings Llyd Griscm David Kallin Thmas D. Lewis Philip Nichlas Aarn Paul Claire Plfus Peter Ventre Staff Simn Rucker Executive Directr Website: matlt.rg Summer 2015 Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust matlt.rg (207) 808-2073
Cmmunity Events Prject Update On Sunday, August 16 th we partnered with U.S. Cellular and the Prtland Sea Dgs fr nnprfit night at Hadlck Field in Prtland! (See pht abve). We raffled ff sme land trust hats, gave ut sticker, brchures and A.T. maps, and chatted with lts f peple abut ur wrk and cnservatin alng the trail in Maine. The Rangeley Trail Twn Festival will be n Saturday, September 5 frm 10am t 4pm. Stp by ur table and say hell! We ll prbably be giving sme maps and ther items away. Yu can find mre infrmatin abut the event at rangeleytrailtwn.cm. Our mnthly hikes will be cntinuing thrugh the fall. August 29 Puzzle Muntain September TBD GMOW Octber 10 Table Rck (with Mahsuc Land Trust). Octber TBD Munt Abraham The Maine Outdr Film Festival made a stp at Bug Light Park in Suth Prtland n August 29. MOFF will als be having screening events fr the Rangeley Trail Twn Festival and ther stps in Maine. Check maineutdrfilmfestival.cm fr mre inf. Redingtn Frest frm Mt. Redingtn Redingtn Frest. Wrk the Redingtn Frest prject has cntinued thrughut the summer. There have been numerus site visits by bard members and Executive Directr Simn Rucker. Jake Hffman, a GIS and bigegraphy graduate f Vassar Cllege, has been enlisted as a land trust intern fr the summer. Jake has been helping with the Baseline Dcumentatin and mapping necessary in advance f the land trust acquiring a cnservatin easement ver the prperty. Gulf Hagas-Whitecap. The land trust is standing by t acquire either an easement r wnership f land alng the Appalachian Trail just suth f White Cap Muntain, in rder fr the greater Gulf Hagas-Whitecap prject t prceed. Vice President Pete McKinley and Executive Directr Simn Rucker hiked t the summit f White Cap Muntain via the White Brk Trail (an fficial A.T. side trail) fr an early stewardship and recnnaissance missin n the terrain. The White Brk Trail is in need f a Maintainer if yu are interested cntact Rn Dbra, MATC White Cap District Overseer, at 207-695-3959 r rdbra@matc.rg. Berry Pickers Trail. As mentined, wrk n the Berry Pickers Trail will start in the fall and cntinue in the spring. We are cnfident the trail will be ready fr public use in early summer 2016. Page 5 Summer 2015 Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust matlt.rg (207) 808-2073
Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust P.O. Bx 761 Prtland, ME 04104 We need yur help! The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust is wrking n a prject t cnserve 10,000 acres f frest in Maine s High Peaks. If we dn t raise enugh funds by the end f 2015, we will nt be able t hld the cnservatin easement ver Redingtn Frest which will prtect this valuable land frm develpment. Please cnsider giving tday - $10, $50, $100 because every bit helps. T make a dnatin, please send in this frm with yur check r head ver t http://matlt.rg/supprt-ur-wrk/ t make yur cntributin nline. We als accept gifts f stck and can wrk with yur financial advisrs. Please call us at 207-808-2073 r email at inf@matlt.rg if yu d like t discuss giving ptins with ur staff. Thank yu fr yur cntinuing supprt f the Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust! Yur dnatin supprts ur nging prject wrk and allws us t cntinue peratins, fund stewardship activities and prtect land alng the Appalachian Trail. $1,000 $500 $100 $50 $25 $10 $ (ther amunt) Please make checks payable t: Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust Name: Address: Phne: Email: Yur dnatin is tax deductible. Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust is a 501(c)3 nnprfit rganizatin.