PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 11, 2024
Maine has always relied on volunteers and donations to build and maintain its trails, but advocates warn that weekend work parties and membership dues alone can’t design the kind of trails that will survive a changing climate and grow the state’s outdoor recreation economy. That’s why advocates from The Partnership for Maine Trails want Maine voters to approve a $30 million bond in November to hire the professional engineers, heavy machinery and laborers needed to design, develop and maintain hiking, bike, snowmobile, ATV and accessible recreational trails around the state. An approved bond would provide $30 million in competitive grants over four years to create, repair and maintain motorized, nonmotorized and multiuse trail projects across the state, including accessible paved trails. It is Maine’s first-ever trail bond.