Moosehead Trails receives Trails Ambassador funding
GREENVILLE — Moosehead Trails has announced that they have been successful in receiving a $7,500 grant from the Maine Community Foundation Piscataquis fund, to pilot a trail ambassador program in conjunction with Destination Moosehead Lake.
The Trail Ambassador pilot program endeavors to provide real-time trail information to visitors at the DML Visitor Center and on the trail, by directing explorers to trails that fit their abilities and aspirations. The ambassador will be a resource to help people with directions and hiking specific information. By providing this resource person, MT also hopes to provide trail hazard reports to trail owners as soon as they occur. With an increased awareness of the volunteer efforts required for trail maintenance, they hope to grow their strong stewardship volunteer base.
“This is a great example of a creative partnership that serves a need with an innovative approach” says Jenny Ward, Moosehead Trails coordinator and Destination Moosehead Lake board president. ” We hope this will serve as a model to meet the growing outdoor recreation needs in the region”.
This is the second collaboration between Moosehead Trails and Destination Moosehead Lake. In 2020 they collaborated to include a “Trail Crew” badge to the popular Moosehead Pinnacle Pursuit Challenge. This collaboration draws attention to trail stewardship by awarding a patch for volunteering four times with Moosehead Trails.
To date, Moosehead Trails has contributed more than 1,760 volunteer hours on over 42 miles of trails, at a value of over $41,000.
This effort would not be possible without the generosity and collaborative spirit of Destination Moosehead Lake, Town of Greenville, Forest Society of Maine, Maine Bureau of Public Lands, Appalachian Mountain Club, AMC Maine Chapter and the Maine Appalachian Trail Club.
Founded in 2016, Moosehead Trails meets the stewardship needs of the trails built as a result of the Moosehead Lake Region Concept Plan which granted easements on an aggregate of 121 acres for non-motorized trails in this area, and other privately owned and publicly accessible trails in the Moosehead Lake region.
Additional information on the Moosehead Trails is available at https://www.facebook.com/MooseheadTrails, on Destination Moosehead Lake at https://destinationmooseheadlake.com/ and the Moosehead Pinnacle Pursuit at, https://mooseheadpinnaclepursuit.com/.