Courtesy / The Conservation Fund
The rectangle outlined in red indicates the newly acquired 532 acres.
November 22, 2022
Bethel’s vision for trail progresses with $930K deal for woodlands
Courtesy / EcoPhotography, The Conservation Fund
The town of Bethel seeks to grow its reputation as a mountain biking destination in areas such as the Bethel Community Forest.
Bethel’s vision of enhancing opportunities to take to the trails got a boost with the $930,000 annexation of 532 acres to Bethel Community Forest.
The Conservation Fund and Inland Woods + Trails said the acquisition expands the protected forest by more than 50% to over 1,500 acres, resulting in more recreational trail access, enhanced protection for deer wintering habitat and opportunities for the sustainable management of timber to support local mills.
“Ownership and management of forests like these for the community and recreation is the future for rural economies like Bethel,” said Tom Duffus, the Conservation Fund’s vice president and Northeast representative.
The purchase was made possible by two anonymous donors who made significant gifts toward the expansion, as well as a grant from the Conservation Fund’s Oxford County Land Conservation Grant Program in partnership with the Stifler Family Foundation.
Those and other community gifts matched funding provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service’s Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program.
The U.S. Forest Service ranked and funded the Bethel Community Forest expansion as its top community forest program priority in 2018 and 2021.
Trails and habitat
Duffus noted the expansion of Bethel Community Forest and similar conservation efforts in the community is expected to benefit the region’s appeal as a recreation destination.
The lands added include 2,500 feet of Chapman Brook, which serves as Bethel’s backup water supply; 640 feet of Twitchell Brook with more than 1 acre of mapped wild brook trout habitat; and roughly 121 acres of deer wintering area.
The trout and deer habitats are priorities for protection as identified by the state of Maine. The land also contains priority habitat for more than two dozen U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Priority Trust Species, including the American woodcock, killdeer, bald eagle, peregrine falcon and red-shouldered hawk.
The acquisition will help advance a longstanding community vision for a trail system that will connect Sunday River through the village and schools to Mt. Abram. The expansion also protects part of the former Chadbourne Tree Farm’s historic working forest landscape in western Maine from fragmentation and development.
“These lands are so important to the community,” said Gabe Perkins, executive director of Inland Woods + Trails. “My organization exists because 20 years ago there was a community gathering where people talked about their vision for recreation in the area. That is the foundation for our existence. And this project is our part of continuing to articulate that vision for a year-round, connected trail.”
The Conservation Fund is a national nonprofit land trust, with a field office in Freeport, dedicated to environmental solutions that make economic sense. It purchased the land in 2020 through its affiliate White Pine Forest LLC in partnership with the Malone Family Land Preservation Foundation and with a loan from the Richard King Mellon Foundation through the Conservation Fund’s Working Forest Fund. The Conservation Fund transferred the property to Inland Woods + Trails earlier this month.
Maine’s congressional delegation, including U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine, and U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-2nd District (which includes Oxford County), ensured that federal funding supported the project.
Former tree farm
Bethel Community Forest is a parcel that was formerly part of the Chadbourne Tree Farm, which the Conservation Fund purchased in 2020, with the goal of partnering with area nonprofits to conserve portions of the woodlands.
The tree farm, a business dating back to 1634, comprised 15,408 acres of woodland. Other parcels of the woodland have been conserved by other nonprofits, and it’s expected that the bulk of the acreage will be permanently conserved through an easement through the state in 2023, said Duffus.
Duffus said the benefit of the Conservation Fund includes its ability to buy large parcels such as the Chadbourne Tree Farm and then work individually with partners toward stewardship of portions of the land.
Mountain bike destination
In parallel to the recent acquisition, Inland Woods + Trails recently received a trails master plan completed for the 532 acres by the Boulder, Colo.-based International Mountain Bicycling Association, Perkins told Mainebiz.
The plan, which is not ready to be released yet, includes a phased schedule for trail development, he said.
Improvements are expected to start next spring along an existing 3-mile hiking trail.
The plan conforms with the community’s concept to leverage the area as a mountain biking destination – a concept that has made progress in recent years.
“We counted 10,000 people on our mountain bike trailheads this summer,” said Perkins. “And that was just from June to mid-October. I guess that’s proof of concept.”
The group intends to analyze visitation and demographic trends to better understand where people are coming and how long they’re staying.
The area has long been known as a ski destination due to mountains such as Sunday River in Newry and Mt. Abram in Greenwood.
But anecdotally, said Perkins, it’s become clear that building warm-weather activities such as mountain biking and hiking have made the Bethel area’s summer months just as vibrant as the winter months.
“A couple of our favorite restaurants have lines out the door in the summer,” said Perkins. “That’s something to expect on a Saturday in February. But on a Wednesday in August — that‘s good.”
The organization is always exploring ways to add either lands or easements for permanent trails, he said. The goal is to create an interconnected, year-round trail system that connects Mt. Abram to Bethel and then to Sunday River. This summer the organization opened a segment from Mt. Abram to Bethel.
“The next thing is finish the work from Bethel to Sunday River,” he said.
He added, “It’s been a work in progress for a while and now it seems to be falling into place.”
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments