Aug. 3—Portland Trails is in the middle of a $100,000 emergency fundraising campaign to repair widespread damage to its regional trail system caused by last winter’s storms and prepare it for a more unpredictable climate-driven future.
The damage caused by back-to-back-to-back storms shocked trails manager Jamie Parker, a veteran of hundreds of storms during his nearly 20-year career with the nonprofit. Eighteen trails were damaged. A thousand feet of bridges had to be replaced. River banks were washed away.
“We’re doing our best to restore the trails, but I’ll be honest, it’s a lot to keep up with,” Parker said.
The nonprofit organization estimated that the cost of materials for basic storm damage repairs totaled $750,000, development director Lindsay Conrad said. That amount is about $40,000 less than Portland Trails’ annual budget and three times what it usually spends to repair and maintain its trails.
Two months into the campaign, Portland Trails has raised approximately $75,000 of its $100,000 goal for essential trail repairs, Conrad said. Fundraising will continue through August, with donations up to $3,000 being matched by supporters helping the organization reach its target.
Portland Trails manages a 78-mile regional trail network on public and private lands using a system of legal easements and agreements. An army of about 1,500 volunteers donate 4,700 hours a year to maintain the trails. In 2023, the trails were used about a million times
Daniel Bishop, a trail steward who also coordinates that volunteer army, stood along the banks of the Presumpscot River on a recent afternoon and pointed out the damage caused by storm flooding and runoff at the convergence of the Sebago to Sea Trail and Forest City Trail.
A group of volunteers had been there the day before to install wooden steps to help visitors access the rocky ledge and river about 15 feet below. Last winter, the swollen river and heavy runoff had caused the hemlock-lined river bank to collapse, leaving a steep, slippery drop-off in its place.
“The first storm saturated the soil, weakening the bank, and it was the second storm a few days later, when the river rose and the runoff hit, that washed all the soil and the rocks away,” Bishop said. “It’s emblematic of what’s happening all over our system.”
Many of the network’s trails follow waterways, Bishop said. That makes them easier to construct and more attractive to hikers. Unfortunately, these waterside paths are also most vulnerable to flood and runoff damage, making them more expensive in the long run.
WATERSIDE TRAILS ATTRACTIVE, EXPENSIVE
Waterside trails also require a lot of bridging to keep hikers dry and marshland vegetation safe from being trampled. Last winter’s storms damaged, dislodged or destroyed most of the trail bridges, making it clear they will have to be moved, elevated, and enlarged to survive Portland’s stormier future.
For example, storm damage forced the temporary closure of the Fore River Sanctuary’s white trail, which runs from Congress and Frost to the railroad tracks. Downed trees and erosion from heavy rains and floods damaged the trail and washed out multiple bridges.
Such changes wreak havoc on a nonprofit’s budget, Conrad said. A simple 8-foot wooden bridge that might have cost $400 to build must now be replaced by a 40-foot bridge that cost $10,000 to build despite donated engineering work from a sympathetic board member.
“We’re no stranger to storms in Maine,” Conrad said. “We build storm repairs into our budget and still we know that once in a while we’re going to get hit hard. But it’s different now. Now, we’re getting hit hard several times a year every year. We can’t afford to recover, much less build resiliency.”
Bishop and Conrad said they hope to capitalize on a statewide trail bonding package. They have asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency for about $100,000 to reimburse them for repairs to trails on public lands, but such projects must be restorations, not projects adapted for a warmer, wetter future.
And many of the group’s trails traverse private property, Conrad added.
The group will have to increase the size of its trail repair and maintenance budget for the future, Bishop said. It also plans to apply for climate adaptation grants from FEMA and other groups to pay for repairs to trails that traverse private property and projects that will help Maine adapt to its changing climate.
“If we don’t prepare for what’s coming, repairs we’re making right now will just be washed away, too,” Bishop said. “I fully expect that I’ll soon be spending the majority of my time working to make our trail system and our whole community better prepared for the coming changes.”
Donations to Portland Trails can be made by visiting trails.org and clicking donate.
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Amanda Smith is a dedicated U.S. correspondent with a passion for uncovering the stories that shape the nation. With a background in political science, she provides in-depth analysis and insightful commentary on domestic affairs, ensuring readers are well-informed about the latest developments across the United States.
