NEW GLOUCESTER – Selectmen on Monday granted permission to the Royal River Conservation Trust to create a pedestrian trail on a land-locked six-acre parcel of town property.

The board also asked the trust to draft a document for the transfer of the property to the organization, which will go to the town attorney for review before possible adoption at a future town meeting.

Rather than endorse the group’s request to ask voters to approve the donation at the May 6 annual town meeting, the board said more time is needed to flush out legal language and concepts.

The request by Trust Executive Director Henry Nichols asked selectmen to place an article on the town meeting warrant donating the parcel in order to meet a grant match for the project. The donation would help offset the match requirement in the $266,000 grant awarded last July by the Land for Maine’s Future Program.

The project, the Pisgah Hill Conservation Project, is a conservation initiative connecting this project, which runs from North Pownal Road to Pineland, the Bradbury Mountain and Pineland Corridor trail system and the Royal River trail to the Runaround Pond trail in Durham.

Selectman Steve Libby opposed selling any town land.

“It’s hard to get it back,” Libby said.

“This represents a very large block of land unbroken by roads,” Nichols said. “Our intention is to allow all traditional uses. This is a community asset that will be open for public use.”

The project requires fundraising by the Trust and in-kind donations to meet future goals.

Agreements are being negotiated with other landowners within the proposed trail system project. Nichols said he hopes to get all land transactions completed by the end of the year, then begin development.