Appalachian Mountain Club - Maine Chapter

The Land for Maine’s Future (LMF) Board has recently approved funding for land conservation projects supported by Maine voters last November 2007. Based on the approval of the Land Bond associated with Question 4, $17 million was earmarked by the State of Maine for the Land for Maine’s Future program.

The LMF Board has decided to approve a total of 46 individual land conservation projects across Maine to protect approximately 36,000 acres of public recreation and wildlife areas including including forest, farmlands, and coastal areas.

A new section of the Eastern Trail has been opened that improves outdoor recreational access between Old Orchard Beach and Scarborough. The new 1.6 mile trail section was improved along an abandoned railway right of way and is intended for multiple uses including hiking, biking, bird watching, and cross country skiing. Features along this section include the Nonesuch River and the Scarborough Marsh.

This section is part of a larger project funded by the Maine Department of Transportation and part of the vision of the Eastern Trail Alliance. When completed, the Eastern Trail will provide an approximately 80 mile path in Maine from South Portland’s Bug Light Park on Casco Bay to the Piscataqua River in Kittery.

Please click here for a recent article in the Portland Press Herald.

The newest section is part of a larger $3 million project to add six miles to the trail. The plan includes building a bridge to carry the trail over the Maine Turnpike in Kennebunk.

Funding for the new stretch was awarded through the Maine Department of Transportation, and made possible through partnerships with local town officials and Central Maine Power Co., which owns the utility pathway.

Calling all teens! Would you like to enter a movie contest? The Maine Outdoor Youth Movie Festival is calling for submissions of Short Movies from Maine residents 19 and younger that address the question: “Why Being Outdoor Matters.”

This event is being organized as part of Maine’s “Take It Outside” program to encourage families to develop a connection with nature in Maine’s great outdoors. The Movie Festival will recognize the short movies that best capture the outdoor experience in Maine and the connection between people and the environment. Continue Reading »

Photographer Bridget Besaw and author Tom Slayton will present a program of photographs and readings based on Thoreau’s extensive travels through northern Maine, along canoe trails established by the Penobscot people and up the rugged slopes of Katahdin, Maine’s highest mountain. This free event is sponsored by the Maine Historical Society and will take place on Tuesday, July 22 from 12-1PM at the Maine Historical Society at 489 Congress Street, Portland.
For more information call 207-774-1822 or email info@mainehistory.org Continue Reading »

The night is here to revive the Maine Chapter’s Young Members (YM) program! This event will be on Monday, July 21 from 5:30 to 8:00 PM in Falmouth Foreside. Meet other people in their 20’s and 30’s over a social barbecue and backyard games. We will share ideas on what activities, outings, and social events the YM program should offer to AMC members in the years to come. We will also explore how to become a chapter outings leader so more activities can be offered in the future. AMC members and non-members are encouraged to attend. So, please come and meet other young people interested in the outdoors! This event is hosted by Kim Sanders and Carrie Walia. For more information contact Carrie Walia at 207-928-2277 or carrie.amcme@yahoo.com. To learn more about the young members program, please click here.

Join us on Friday night (first night of Annual Meeting) for a slideshow presentation from an August 2008 Major Excursion touring the Swiss, Italian and French Alps. Outings Co-Chair Spencer Meyer will show highlights from a 12-day backpack through one of the most spectacular trekking routes in the world!

Don’t miss the fun! Register now for the Annual Meeting. Past slideshows have been a highlight of the Annual Meeting weekends!

As a token of appreciation, the Department of Conservation, Bureau of Parks & Lands is celebrating Conservation Plate Holder Appreciation Days. For those with “Loony” license plates, free admission for all occupants will be granted to Maine state parks and historic places on July 19 & 20, 2008. So take advantage of the state’s generosity and go explore a state treasure! For more information please contact the Bureau of Parks & Lands at 287-2211.

Headed to the hills for a hike? Or planning a paddle on a pond? If you are going with a group and looking to carpool, try GOMAINE’s Trip Planner! This is a TEST version of web software that serves as a free online rideboard to help you find someone to share the ride – and the travel costs – the next time you head for the mountains. This can save you a lot of gas $ as well as reduce your “carbon footprint.” Try it for recreation, concerts, sporting events, conferences, meetings; one way or round trip– you choose. Sharing the ride helps keep Maine’s air cleaner and our landscape less cluttered with cars. In addition, as a beta-tester you can fill out a brief survey and be entered to win $100 gas card!

Why do people hike on the Appalachian Trail? That’s what Barbara Freidt from Old Dominion University wanted to find out. Some of you may remember the post we did on an AT survey back in March; these are the results! Topics range from demographics, to shelter and privy preferences, to meeting dogs on the trail. And more importantly why people hike and how many folks give back to the trail in the form of trail work and other conservation efforts. Here is a summary of the preliminary findings!

True Mainers can joke about the black fly being the official Maine State Bird. It’s only with a touch of dry Downeast humor that the bravest Maine resident can endure the Bug season which resides between Mud Season (Spring) and Not Winter (Summer). The dreaded Black Fly always travels in unending numbers, knows exactly where to strike to draw the most blood and cause the largest rash, and can penetrate any bug screen known to mankind. If it seems that the Black Fly is supernatural in its abilities, it’s more likely that their sheer numbers in Maine have increased due to an unlikely unintended consequence.

According to an article in the Boston Globe, the efforts of the Clean Water Act have resulted in environmental conditions that have led to healthy populations of the Black Fly in Maine. The clean, clear waters of Maine’s rivers and streams are perfect breeding areas for Black Flies, making Maine a virtual Eden for these pesky gnats.

So, when you’re wading through a hoard of Black Flies, just try to remember that their presence is a positive indicator of Maine’s healthy environment, and perhaps well worth such hardships to those who value our State’s natural beauty.