MATLT’s Bald Mountain Pond property is a wonderful spot on Maine’s Appalachian Trail. With an undeveloped shoreline and the A.T. running along the north shore, it’s a hidden gem for hikers, paddlers, hunters, fisherman, and more. It’s also one of the most ecologically important areas in Maine with values like high climate resilience and matrix forest blocks. It’s also a haven for rare and threatened wildlife species – like the Canada lynx. This reclusive species is federally listed as threatened but is well established in Maine due to plentiful habitat (boreal forests). And yet Canada lynx are rarely seen in the north woods.

It’s always a special moment to have that lynx sighting but not everybody has had that joy. But the next best thing is a documented sighting and thanks to MATLT friend Matt Foster (who has permission to have a game cam on the property) we can see this Canada lynx on the Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust’s property. Scroll through to see the series as the lynx crosses the stone bridge.

And be sure to head out there for a chance sighting of your own!

Last month, seven members of the MATLT board, plus executive director Simon Rucker, gathered for a weekend retreat in Maine’s High Peaks region. Serving as a springboard for conversations around the ecological and cultural values of the “A.T. corridor,” which extends into and ends in Maine, the retreat’s backdrop of sunsets and sunrises over multi-colored peaks rejuvenated and inspired board members through hours of meetings. During the retreat, the group earnestly got up to speed on a shared vision, and that energy is fueling our strategic planning process which is already underway. This work will ensure that the organization continues to fulfill its mission to preserve and protect land surrounding the Appalachian Trail in Maine for public benefit.

The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust and the Maine Association for New Americans wrapped up the FIFTH #WEOUTSIDE session since the program was established in 2023. This year, there were significant challenges in launching the program for this summer but MANA did an amazing job of putting things together and our wonderful partners stepped up in providing great experiences for these kids. This summer they:

• Learned how to fish with Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife at Songo Lock
• Went whitewater rafting with Adventure Bound
• Gave back and put in some garden work with Niweskok
• Took on trail maintenance at Camden Hills State Park with the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands
• Learned about stewardship and controlled burns with The Nature Conservancy at Wells Barrens Preserve
• Kayaked with Loon Echo Land Trust
• Climbed Puzzle Mountain with Mardi Fuller
• Just had fun at Dundee Park to close things out

It was another great season and we’re already looking at options for the program in the winter of 2025-26!

The first summer of the #WEOUTSIDE Elders program was a resounding success! The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust would like to thank our partners the Maine Association for New Americans for creating this program and allowing MATLT to help in getting these older New Mainers into the outdoors. This summer’s trips with the group included:

• BBQ at Sebago Lake State Park
• Reid Beach State Park with Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for tidepooling
• Berry picking and ATV riding at the Perham Stream Birding Trail
• Foraging at Crystal Spring Farm
• A visit to Parkman Hill Farm with Somerset Woods Trustees
• Touring the lakes region with Loon Echo Land Trust
• Hiking with Portland Trails
• A visit with the Wabanaki at Niweskok
• An upcoming overnight trip at Camp Kieve 

These trips were all specially designed for a group that might have some mobility challenges, but they have endless curiosity about the outdoor world an a wealth of knowledge about nature from their countries of origin. We love to run youth programs to capture the future, but it is also essential to maintain the present and ensure that valuable community knowledge is allowed to flourish. Hopefully the Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust can run this program in the future!

Bald Mountain Pond was acquired by the Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust in 2019, as part of a larger project that saw the adjacent ridge move into National Park Service ownership. Located in the middle section of Maine’s A.T., in an area largely with fewer high mountain peaks and trails to ascend them, Bald Mountain Pond is an oasis of nature and solitude available for those who make the trip.

MATLT staff and Board Vice President Pete McKinley recently took a trip to the pond in order to inspect three camps that the organization continues to lease to long-term tenants who have had the camps in their families for multiple generations. The organization now deploys multiple technology platforms to monitor land holdings, including near-real time remote satellite imagery, a drone, and even airplane flights over properties. But there is something special about getting a sense of place to form a connection to the land.

Bald Mountain Pond and all of the landscapes you see here are fully accessible to the public as well. There is a boat launch at the southern tip of the pond and over 1100 acres of water to explore by canoe, kayak, or other watercraft. On the north shore of the pond, the Appalachian Trail descends from Moxie Bald Mountain to a lean-to where thru-hikers stop for the night. It’s a relatively quick hike to the summit, which has views in all directions from the High Peaks in the southwest to Katahdin in the northeast, so it’s possible to do a dual paddle/hike trip in one day.

MATLT encourages visitors to Bald Mountain Pond and if you are interested in making the trip, poke around online and reach out to us at info@matlt.org.

This season’s #WEOUTSIDE Youth Program is focused on getting these New Mainer outdoor adventurers skills for the future, and to get them to give back in the process. Some of the trips this season so far have been to the Niweskok Farm to learn about Wabanaki culture and agricultural practices (while chipping in with farm work), hitting up Songo Lock for some fishing (while also helping to operate America’s last manual lock), and taking in the trails at Camden Hills State Park (while doing some trail maintenance). We’ll have plenty more trips this summer so check back for the next update.

The #WEOUTSIDE Elders program kicked off in amazing fashion with a trip to the great old standby location, the Perham Stream Birding Trail. The Elders program focuses on the other end of our age spectrum – those New Mainers who are most senior in age. While many of their needs are different, everybody in Maine wants to experience nature and all that the state has to offer for outdoor recreation.

Where the youth are focused on careers, kinetic energy, and physically demanding work, the elders tend towards more mature themes: peace and quiet, the wonder in small details, the sheer joy in doing new things. Our first trip to the PSBT was deliberately chosen because of its lovely setting which reminded many of the group of the mountains in their home countries (Burundi and Rwanda). There were other reminders: the continuity of generations visible in the homes and landscape; the presence of agriculture from a bygone era.

But the elders are interested in new things too! They loved riding on ATVs to go check out the blueberries and the wildlife. They loved the cold water streams for relief from the heat. And most of all, they loved being able to visit a protected space that is open for their enjoyment.

The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust received a big boost in trail maintenance work with some help from the High Peaks Recreation Rangers. A project of High Peaks Alliance with funding from the High Peaks Initiative and the Community Outdoor Recreation Assistance Recovery Program, the Rangers have spent the summer maintaining over 100 miles of trails, working with dozens of volunteers, and leading training programs to help protect the environment.

The Berry Picker’s Trail has been inaccessible to regular vehicles since storms knocked out the Orbeton Stream bridge in 2024, but can be reached on foot or ATV. We used ATVs to get there with the Rangers and tackle the annual maintenance of the trail in preparation for the replacement bridge which should be installed in September. The crew removed blowdowns, cleared accumulated brush and other debris, and made sure that the trail will be ready to go late this fall.

Thank you Rangers!!!