LEWISTON — Under the leadership of Gary Maurer, steward of Thorncrag Nature Sanctuary, nine Key Bank employees and two Bates College students restored dozens of water bars on the main yellow trail and blue trail of the sanctuary.
The water bars, or “speed bumps for water,” were originally constructed in 1988 following severe flooding and erosion of the soils on the steep trails of Thorncrag. Over time the depressions of the water bars filled with fine soils and debris that need to be removed, and the ditches need to be cleaned out.
Through a wet drizzle of rain, the volunteers grabbed shovels, mattocks and rakes to reconstruct each water bar so that the water was once again effectively angled into the woods to be absorbed rather than washing down the hill and eroding the trails.
The volunteer event assisted the stewardship committee members as a significant part of the ongoing stewardship of Thorncrag.
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