NORWAY — The Western Foothills Land Trust has received support from the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund, the state fund sponsored by lottery ticket sales. The grant will provide $3,500 for hiking trail design and initial restoration work at the Trust’s South Pond property in Buckfield.

Initial trail design and trail marking work is planned for this winter on site. A hiking trail plan for South Pond will navigate around numerous sensitive areas as the extensive 1236-acre parcel includes 303 acres of wetlands as well as forested uplands.

In a separate award, the board of the Land for Maine’s Future Fund has granted $13,500 to support the construction and completion of the Universally Accessible trail on Roberts Farm Preserve in Norway, part of the overall trail system designed by Mike Cooper of Bethel.

The Maine Community Foundation has also provided support for this 1.1k trail. Portions of the accessible trail have been cut and will be open for skiing and snowshoeing this winter. But due to this season’s weather, completion and surfacing of the accessible loop out to the viewpoint across Lake Pennesseewassee including gate installation and trail signage, will be completed in 2010.

The Davis Conservation Foundation has also granted $10,000 to
the Western Foothills Land Trust for its planned purchase of the
five-acre Roberts Farmhouse parcel.

The Davis Conservation
Foundation, located in Falmouth, supports conservation efforts in
Maine; Davis was amongst the foundations providing support in 2007 for
the trust’s purchase of the 150-acre Roberts Farm parcel from the Tech
Park Development Corporation.

Trust directors and staff are heading up the current $40,000 fundraising effort for the farmstead parcel.
The trust plans to close on the property in early December and to immediately clean up the lot.  

The rust is establishing an advisory committee to work with directors
and community members to guide the adaptive reuse of the historic
building.