Post by Okwes on Dec 5, 2005 20:21:20 GMT -5
Canoe trail celebrates heritage along the way
Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
PADDLE THE TRAIL
THE MAPS of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, 11 of which are completed, can be found at: northernforestcanoetrail.org/pages/nfctstore.html#Anchor-35882.
TO LEARN MORE of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, go to: northernforestcanoetrail.org/index.html.
Six years after the Northern Forest Canoe Trail was incorporated, four years after it received congressional funding and a year after its eastern terminus in Maine was dedicated, the trail will be christened this spring.
Revealing the character of this historic river route that winds through 35 communities in New York, Vermont, Quebec, New Hampshire and Maine is the work of one nonprofit and countless volunteers.
In June on National Trails Day, the 740-mile trail that runs from Old Forge, N.Y., to Fort Kent will have a trail-wide celebration.
Volunteers in Maine say the work is well worth it.
The trail represents the historic trail that American Indians took through the Adirondacks, Vermont, New Hampshire and northern Maine.
The organization goes into each community and works with volunteers and town officials to help provide the history of the area and the land uses.
Different areas have different goals, considering 35 communities are along the trail.
"Rangeley Lakes is a good example," said Jen Lamphere, assistant director of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail.
"Back in 1999, before the Northern Forest Canoe Trail's leadership was here, the Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust took it upon themselves to make the first map of the the Northern Forest Canoe Trail."
This is what the Canoe Trail organization strives for: having river communities become proactive in educating visitors about their waterways.
"Our goal overall is to establish a long-distance water trail," Lamphere said. "And through that, celebrating the heritage and the natural environment in the communities, in a way they're inclined to do that. That varies."
To achieve that goal, the Canoe Trail organization, which has been funded by grants, donations and roughly 450 members, needs to tap into other sources of funding.
This week, it is finishing a monthlong online auction to help fund its mission.
The auction - at www.TheCanoeTrailAuction.cmarket.com - runs through Friday.
The Canoe Trail volunteers build campsites, composting toilets, picnic tables, register boxes. The Canoe Trail does not choose its campsites, which are located on private and public land.
The Northern Forest Canoe Trail organization works with private landowners on a permission basis, Lamphere said.
Many of the landowners have allowed paddlers to park and portage on their lands for years, she said.
The organization is two maps away from completing all 13 maps outlining the trail, the communities along it, and the historic and natural offerings it holds.
The 13 maps detail where these sites are, and kiosks have gone in along the trail to mark it and provide information for those who haven't purchased the maps (which cost $9.95 each).
The organization has helped build kiosks along the trail. There is one in Rangeley and one in Fort Kent. A third is expected to go in Greenville for the trail celebration in June, and others will be added in the next year in Rockwood, Stratton and Eustis. Eventually, one will also be placed in Jackman, Lamphere said.
The Natural Resource Education Center, formed in 1996, offers educational programs on the history of Maine's forest industry and helped create the map of the Moosehead region.
The Education Center in Greenville also is making the kiosks, and, much in the spirit of the trail, wants to list local outdoor trades on the community kiosk.
For the past five years, the Education Center has offered programs in various locations around Moosehead Lake on natural resource topics, everything from forestry to wildlife.
Educating visitors about American Indian history and the natural history of the area is what the Education Center does - and what the Canoe Trails strives to do, said Linda Koski, a board member of the Education Center.
The leg of the trail from Greenville up Moosehead Lake to the West Branch of the Penobscot River and up to Chesuncook Lake (shown on Map 11) is an area rich in native and natural history, Koski said.
"There is a very short height of land where you can carry over to the Penobscot," Koski said of Northeast Carry, where paddlers portage to the West Branch. "That traditional carry has been there for thousands of years."
Locals have bought the map in Greenville, Koski said.
And Koski said there's no doubt the trail has the potential to attract people to the area who might not come otherwise.
But, as far as it being a big draw or providing an economic boost, that's unlikely.
"I don't see it," Koski said. "It would not be the great draw that a ski area would be. Certainly, it is an added component. It will bring richness and opportunity here for recreation."
It also brings a powerful connection in northern Maine.
"It ties the communities together. It's good for Greenville and Rockwood to be tied together, for Rockwood and Jackman," Koski said. "The river and the lakes were the mode of transportation not that long ago. This brings a consciousness of how people used to get around in the woods."
Staff Writer Deirdre Fleming can be contacted at 791-6452 or at:
dfleming@pressherald.com
Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
PADDLE THE TRAIL
THE MAPS of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, 11 of which are completed, can be found at: northernforestcanoetrail.org/pages/nfctstore.html#Anchor-35882.
TO LEARN MORE of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, go to: northernforestcanoetrail.org/index.html.
Six years after the Northern Forest Canoe Trail was incorporated, four years after it received congressional funding and a year after its eastern terminus in Maine was dedicated, the trail will be christened this spring.
Revealing the character of this historic river route that winds through 35 communities in New York, Vermont, Quebec, New Hampshire and Maine is the work of one nonprofit and countless volunteers.
In June on National Trails Day, the 740-mile trail that runs from Old Forge, N.Y., to Fort Kent will have a trail-wide celebration.
Volunteers in Maine say the work is well worth it.
The trail represents the historic trail that American Indians took through the Adirondacks, Vermont, New Hampshire and northern Maine.
The organization goes into each community and works with volunteers and town officials to help provide the history of the area and the land uses.
Different areas have different goals, considering 35 communities are along the trail.
"Rangeley Lakes is a good example," said Jen Lamphere, assistant director of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail.
"Back in 1999, before the Northern Forest Canoe Trail's leadership was here, the Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust took it upon themselves to make the first map of the the Northern Forest Canoe Trail."
This is what the Canoe Trail organization strives for: having river communities become proactive in educating visitors about their waterways.
"Our goal overall is to establish a long-distance water trail," Lamphere said. "And through that, celebrating the heritage and the natural environment in the communities, in a way they're inclined to do that. That varies."
To achieve that goal, the Canoe Trail organization, which has been funded by grants, donations and roughly 450 members, needs to tap into other sources of funding.
This week, it is finishing a monthlong online auction to help fund its mission.
The auction - at www.TheCanoeTrailAuction.cmarket.com - runs through Friday.
The Canoe Trail volunteers build campsites, composting toilets, picnic tables, register boxes. The Canoe Trail does not choose its campsites, which are located on private and public land.
The Northern Forest Canoe Trail organization works with private landowners on a permission basis, Lamphere said.
Many of the landowners have allowed paddlers to park and portage on their lands for years, she said.
The organization is two maps away from completing all 13 maps outlining the trail, the communities along it, and the historic and natural offerings it holds.
The 13 maps detail where these sites are, and kiosks have gone in along the trail to mark it and provide information for those who haven't purchased the maps (which cost $9.95 each).
The organization has helped build kiosks along the trail. There is one in Rangeley and one in Fort Kent. A third is expected to go in Greenville for the trail celebration in June, and others will be added in the next year in Rockwood, Stratton and Eustis. Eventually, one will also be placed in Jackman, Lamphere said.
The Natural Resource Education Center, formed in 1996, offers educational programs on the history of Maine's forest industry and helped create the map of the Moosehead region.
The Education Center in Greenville also is making the kiosks, and, much in the spirit of the trail, wants to list local outdoor trades on the community kiosk.
For the past five years, the Education Center has offered programs in various locations around Moosehead Lake on natural resource topics, everything from forestry to wildlife.
Educating visitors about American Indian history and the natural history of the area is what the Education Center does - and what the Canoe Trails strives to do, said Linda Koski, a board member of the Education Center.
The leg of the trail from Greenville up Moosehead Lake to the West Branch of the Penobscot River and up to Chesuncook Lake (shown on Map 11) is an area rich in native and natural history, Koski said.
"There is a very short height of land where you can carry over to the Penobscot," Koski said of Northeast Carry, where paddlers portage to the West Branch. "That traditional carry has been there for thousands of years."
Locals have bought the map in Greenville, Koski said.
And Koski said there's no doubt the trail has the potential to attract people to the area who might not come otherwise.
But, as far as it being a big draw or providing an economic boost, that's unlikely.
"I don't see it," Koski said. "It would not be the great draw that a ski area would be. Certainly, it is an added component. It will bring richness and opportunity here for recreation."
It also brings a powerful connection in northern Maine.
"It ties the communities together. It's good for Greenville and Rockwood to be tied together, for Rockwood and Jackman," Koski said. "The river and the lakes were the mode of transportation not that long ago. This brings a consciousness of how people used to get around in the woods."
Staff Writer Deirdre Fleming can be contacted at 791-6452 or at:
dfleming@pressherald.com