Black & White Trail completed

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The Natural Resources Council of Maine recently awarded Bob Iles of the Mahoosuc Land Trust with the People’s Choice Award for his efforts on Whitecap Mountain. Iles is seen here with NRCM representative, Tony Owens. Iles is seen at top right showing fellow Mahoosuc Lant Trust member, Jane Chandler the connector trail from the clearing between White and Black which is shown at bottom right.

RUMFORD- Throughout all of last week’s rain, there were a dozen or so workers from the Maine Conservation Corp camping out in the helicopter clearing between Whitecap and Black Mountain. The team was brought in for a final push to get the Black and White Trail completed.

“The team did a great job,” stated Bob Iles, Chairman of the Whitecap Stewardship Committee for Mahoosuc Land Trust. “The trail is cut through connecting the two mountains, but due to logging in the Black Mountain area this past summer, more work will need to be done next spring to complete the trail down to the Black Mountain lodge.”

Iles stated that in the spring, there will be a formal ribbon cutting to officially open the trail and wanted to remind hikers that if they do explore the trail through the fall and winter months, to use caution and be prepared to find your own way to the lodge.

As part of the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry, the Maine Conservation Corps’ (MCC) four-fold mission is to: accomplish conservation projects, create conservation employment, provide conservation education, and engage conservation volunteers.

The MCC’s Field Team program is comprised of trail crews that construct and rehabilitate recreational trails throughout the state of Maine. These teams work on projects for communities and local land trusts, as well as on the Appalachian Trail land in Maine’s state parks and public lands.

The MCC receives AmeriCorps funding through the Corporation for National & Community Service via the Maine Commission for Community Service. As AmeriCorps volunteers, eligible MCC members receive benefits such as a living stipend, AmeriCorps Education Award, health insurance and student loan forbearance.

Bob Iles, Chairman of the Whitecap Stewardship Committee for the Mahoosuc Land Trust, was recently awarded the People’s Choice Award “for exceptional efforts preserving the summit of and maintaining trails on Whitecap Mountain in Rumford, and for continued work to obtain public access to area lands and waterways.”

The Mahoosuc Land Trust’s mission is “To protect and conserve land and traditional land uses including farming, forestry, recreation, significant habitats, and water resources for the benefit of the public.”

Conservation properties include Rumford Whitecap, Intervale Gateway in Bethel, the Androscoggin Canoe Trail, the Stewart Family Preserve in Grafton Notch and many others.

For more information, visit www.mahoosuc.org.