Using MATLT’s new drone, we have been able to capture 3D imagery which helps to monitor fee properties and conservation easements. Click on the images below to navigate with your mouse.
Saddleback Mountain from the Berry Picker’s Trail
White Cap Mountain from the White Brook Trail
Bald Mountain Pond
The Land Trust Alliance hosted their annual 37th year of Rally: The National Land Conservation Conference in Providence, RI. Serving as the premier training and networking conference, Rally offers learning sessions focused on land conservation topics, networking events, exhibits, plenary sessions and an awards presentation celebrating conservation leadership.
The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust had the privilege to lead a learning session alongside the Maine Association for New Americans, focusing on the #WEOUTSIDE program. Many conservation organizations around the country are looking for ways to reach new audiences and deploy new programming to address inequities in the outdoor recreation and conservation space. Unfortunately, many land trusts don’t have community connections or don’t know how to reach audiences they aren’t currently serving. MATLT offered this session with the hopes that other organizations can take steps to run their own #WEOUTSIDE-type programs in other states and geographies. We’re also hoping to get other Maine-based organizations to get going too!
Look for more information on the #WEOUTSIDE winter programming to come later in 2024!
The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust is pleased to announce that is has received funding from the Maine Office of Outdoor Recreation through the Community Recreation Assistance Recovery (CORA) Program. This is funded through the US Economic Development Administration (EDA) American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Travel, Tourism, and Outdoor Recreation State Grant.
The High Peaks Initiative (HPI) is a collaborative of local, regional, and national organizations working in Maine’s High Peaks region. HPI’s Mission is to protect important natural resources, secure public access, and support healthy human and natural communities in Maine’s High Peaks. With this funding, HPI will Development a long range collaborative strategic action plan for the diverse recreational sectors that support the nature based tourism economy of Maine’s High Peaks region – hiking, biking, paddling, fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, cross country skiing, wildlife observation, snowshoeing, and ATV riding. The development of a strategic action plan will go hand-in-hand with plans for specific trails and areas which need attention – places where access has been closed off or is uncertain, areas where trails need to be rerouted or upgraded, areas that need to be conserved, and infrastructure that needs to be installed.
The long-term vision for the High Peaks region will be shaped with the input of numerous stakeholders and conservation organizations. We are pleased to be working with the Office of Outdoor Recreation to get this work done for Maine!
The final #WEOUTSIDE trip of the summer! We had so many adventures but for our final trip, we wanted to slow things down a bit and take stock of what we learned, what we perceive around us and how that will shape us going forward. For this really special day, we once again enlisted Samaa Abdurraqib – Maine Master Naturalist, writer, professor, outdoor leader, Executive Director of the Maine Humanities Council, and probably like ten other things. Samaa was here to help the kids connect what they are seeing and doing in the natural world with their own selves, through observation and nature journaling.
For kids who spent the summer canoeing, hiking, mountain biking, and experiencing all the kinetic activities you can do in the Maine outdoors, this was a change of pace, but with Samaa leading the group at the Cathance River Education Alliance Ecology Center (CREA), it was a wonderful experience. Each participant was provided with their own nature journal and had access to a wealth of objects from the natural world which were all around them at CREA. Flowers, animals, rocks, trees, the river, the sky, and all that you can find in the Maine outdoors were their laboratory. Inside CREA there were models to work from for a closer view of organisms we saw across the pond or in the sky. It was an amazing experience to see how calm and introspective even teenagers become when you can give them a setting in which to slow down, use their senses and reflect on how they fit in with the natural world.
And then we also went swimming!
Special thanks to Samaa for her leadership and dedication to the #WEOUTSIDE program – it takes the efforts of many organizations and individuals to make this program happen and Samaa exemplifies that spirit.
Drones have now been commercially available for several years, but due to the limitations on using them they have not been readily deployed by Maine land conservation organizations. The requirement of a license, along with a steep learning curve, the cost of a “fly-away”, and the perceived limitations of use (weather, etc.) kept many away.
Due to several factors, MATLT has acquired a drone with a primary use of helping to manage and steward conservation properties and trails. Drone technology has now made them more user friendly so there is less of a learning curve and less of a chance of loss of the drone. There have also been technology advances to make the accessibility of video and media easier – not only can drones be used for stewardship, they can also be used to showcase the A.T. in Maine and bring it to people where they are (to a certain degree). And finally, external forces: many of MATLT’s lands and trails have been severely impacted by storms in recent years and with the increasing pace of climate-related events, these aren’t going away. These weather events have impacted our ability to not only monitor lands and trails (for damage, property violations, etc.), but have impacted our ability to even get to areas of these lands.
Drone technology is by no means a solution for every problem, but it is another tool we can use to ensure that this special landscape remains protected and open for public use. And drones do capture beautiful images!
MATLT holds a conservation easement over the summit of Mount Abraham, which you can read more about in this StoryMap. We recently headed up the backside of the mountain with Matt Kusper of High Peaks Alliance to check out the route of a proposed new trail to the summit and for our annual required easement monitoring trip to comply with Land Trust Alliance accreditation standards. As many of you are aware, the rainstorms of the past few years have resulted in significant damage to much of the infrastructure that allows us recreational access to many of the lands in the A.T. region (the lands themselves are just fine). Roads have washed out, bridges have been destroyed, trails have been impacted, and solutions to all the problems are difficult to find. The main trail to the summit of Abraham, the Fire Warden’s Trail, is currently in extremely poor condition and there is the potential for a new route to be created.
It was a cloudy day with rain threatening (which prevented use of a drone), but it was a good opportunity to explore the backside route and quickly get into the alpine zone. Thanks to Matt for guiding! We’ll keep you all posted on the status of the trails.
For our latest #WEOUTSIDE trip, our joint MANA and MATLT expedition headed up to Sebago Lake to check out the lands the Portland Water District owns. Not many people know that the PWD owns and manages land around Sebago in order to protect the water quality for the drinking water for 16% of the population of Maine. For much of this land protection PWD works through Sebago Clean Waters – forests act as a filter for runoff into the lake, but these forests are also a great place for recreation of all kinds.
We met at the PWD office to learn first about getting onto the land. Permits are required for use and this is strictly enforced, which we found out about when we forgot to put one of ours on the dashboard of the MANA van! If you intend to visit, make sure you fill out the permit at the kiosk in the photos. Our guide for the day, Amanda Pratt from PWD, led us on the network of trails and we learned about different aspects of the Sebago system – both the natural involving the forests, wetlands, streams and ponds, but also the infrastructure that delivers this amazingly clean water to our homes.
Of course, we couldn’t not swim on a #WEOUTSIDE trip so after the hike we headed over to a beach that is just outside the “no contact” area where public access is not permitted so water quality can be maintained.
Special thanks to Paul Hunt and Amanda Pratt from PWD for making this happen!
The #WEOUTSIDE crew’s next adventure involved hitting the water for a day of paddling on the Royal River. Thanks to the Town of Yarmouth, we were able to secure the boats and head out from the launch up the river.
One of the great things about the Royal River is that you can paddle either upstream or downstream and it’s relatively flat. The current has been subsumed by the dam in Royal River Park, altering the ecosystem and making it almost like a long lake. This was perfect for this group of teenagers who might have limited paddling experience but made up for it with plenty of enthusiasm for getting ahead of each other.
Heading upriver, there was plenty of excitement (“whose boat will tip over”) but everybody stayed dry. We found a suitable spot on the bank for lunch before tired arms forced us to head back. We were treated to some guys climbing the tree with the rope swing and then jumping off from a height of about 25 feet, and we rewarded them with cheers which caused them to jump from even higher.
For our latest #WEOUTSIDE trip, we took the kids for an adventure they have never experienced: mountain biking. After weather and scheduling issues prevented biking trips in both the summer of 2023 AND the winter session in early 2024, we were determined to get this one in with our great partners Inland Woods + Trails. Once again, heavy rain and thunderstorms were in the forecast. But once again, things were able to hold off and these kids got in three hours of heavy riding! As you can see from the photos, Travis from IWT was amazing and led these kids on adventures at the Bethel Village Trails by the inn. The were shredding on the gravel and through the mud for four mile circuits through the woods. We had one rider (pictured in the photo dapping in the front) who had never before ridden a bicycle of any kind and she was out there learning, too. Special thanks to Barker Mountain Bikes for outfitting and helping us get situated at the trails!
For this trip, the second cohort also got to have an overnight experience of their own (the first group was at the Flagstaff Hut). The overnight was at the Evans Notch Lodge which is an excellent hideaway on the scenic byway through the notch in the White Mountain National Forest. The rains came in but, once again, that didn’t deter these kids from heading over to the Wild River for some swimming and fun before a rustic pizza dinner and then a quiet evening in the lodge. Special thanks to Jen from Evans Notch Lodge for making all this happen!
