The trailhead kiosk is shown recently at Thorne Head Preserve that the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust plans to replace with help from the funding it has received from the L.L.Bean Maine Land Trust Grant Program. Paul Bagnall / The Times Record

The Maine Coast Heritage Trust recently announced the distribution of funds through the L.L.Bean Maine Land Trust Grant Program to tackle priority conservation projects for 2025.

The seven land trust award recipients cover six counties, including the municipalities of Sabattus, Brunswick-Topsham, Machias, Falmouth, Lovell, Kennebunkport and Bath. Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust, Kennebec Estuary Land Trust Grant and other grant recipients were notified on Nov. 18 that funding would be distributed before Christmas.

Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust was awarded about $10,000 to open public access at Hideaway Farm Preserve in Topsham. The project includes a parking area, picnic tables, benches and new signage for the property.

Kennebec Estuary Land Trust received $9,000 to help fund its rejuvenation project at Thorne Head Preserve in Bath, which includes replacing the preserve's kiosk and designing user accessibility upgrades to trails while improving a neighborhood trail entrance.

Thorne Head is referred to as "our ambassador preserve," said Becky Kolak, executive director of the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust.

"It's the preserve that I think is certainly the most visited out of all of KELT's lands," she said.

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The total costs for the project are over $29,000. Kolak said aside from the L.L.Bean grant, the rest of the funding comes from existing land trust funds restricted to the Thorne Head Preserve property.

A portion of the grant will allow Kennebec Estuary Land Trust to work with a trail designer for the overlook trail on Thorne Head Preserve to expand trail accessibility for people with mobility issues. The trail designer hasn't been identified yet, but work on the trail and the kiosk improvements is scheduled to occur next spring and into the summer.

The L.L.Bean Maine Land Trust grant program started in 2004 and has provided $493,750 in grants to 120 projects across the state.

"The entire land trust community is deeply appreciative of L.L.Bean's 20-year investment in Maine's conserved lands," said Angela Twitchell, senior director of the Maine Coast Heritage Trust's Land Trust Grant Program. "Maine's land trusts are funded largely by private donations and grants, and all kinds of support -- from volunteerism to funding -- is needed to accomplish their goals and visions."

A map of the projects that have received funding from the L.L.Bean Maine Land Trust Grant Program distributed by the Maine Coast Heritage Trust Grant Program. Courtesy of Maine Coast Heritage Trust

According to Margaret Gerber, project coordinator of Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust, the $10,000 award from L.L.Bean will cover nearly half of the total project costs for the Hideaway Farm Preserve, which totals around $23,000. Another $14,000 in funding for the project came from the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund.

"Hideaway Farm consists of 33 acres of adjoining conservation land with over 3,000 feet of frontage along the Cathance River," Gerber said. "So, we conserved the two properties that make up Hideaway Farm between 2018 and 2022."

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Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust staff have started the initial groundwork, but the project for the Hideaway Farm Preserve won't begin until spring 2025. Improvements include a water overlook area of the Cathance River and converting old woods roads into trails.

Other grant-funded projects include Androscoggin Land Trust's Beyond Adaptive initiative on its Camp Dustin property, which received $8,000; and Downeast Coastal Conservancy received $9,000 to hire crews to help build two to three bridges and reroute a walking trail, which is part of its Heritage Trail, on the Middle River Park and Machias River Preserve sites.

Falmouth Land Trust received $9,000 to collaborate with partners, including Greater Portland New England Mountain Bike Association and the town of Falmouth, to streamline, reroute and remap trails around the summit at the Blackstrap Community Forest to address climate change impacts.

Kennebunkport Conservation Trust was awarded about $10,000 to build a sensory garden at Kennebunk High School, and another $10,000 was awarded to the Greater Lovell Land Trust to collaborate with the Pulpit Rock Trail Blazahs ATV Club on multi-use trail repairs and enhancements to the Kezar Corridor Lands property.

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