Maine Trails Coalition

06/12/2026

"A public awareness campaign led by the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety will appear over the next few weeks on buses and bus stops and through advertising on the radio and online, reminding motorists that people walking and riding on Portland city streets are neighbors.

"Lauren Stewart, director of the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety, said Thursday that the campaign differs from others because the message was created by residents rather than government officials.

'As pedestrian fatalities continue to rise in Maine, we need approaches that connect with the people who live, work and travel in these communities,' she said."

Read the article here: https://www.pressherald.com/?p=7663803&uuid=8eb1a8e7-97b3-4be7-974f-ba390992f524&lid=236006

The announcement came on the same day that the city began developing its first comprehensive transportation plan in more than 30 years.

06/12/2026

New: A Project Grant Opportunity from the Rural Investment Project is offering 3-5 awards up to $40,000 each) to support and learn from multi-town partnerships, collaboratives, and development hubs that are advancing projects that lead to economic transformation in a rural place.

Applicants must be multi-town partnerships, collaboratives or development hubs. A municipality may also be an eligible applicant if it is acting as fiscal agent for a multi-town or regional partnership, collaborative or development hub.

The project must be located in Androscoggin, Aroostook, Franklin, Hancock, Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Oxford, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset, Waldo, and/or Washington counties.

🗓Application deadline: June 30, 2026
📣Awards announced: July 31, 2026!

Learn more: https://form.jotform.com/tRIPGrant/information-guide

06/04/2026

Here's some GREAT news: BPL is adopting an online portal for Maine Trails Program applications this year!

To allow time for implementation of the new system and to ensure applicants have adequate time to submit their applications, the application deadline has been extended to July 17, 2026.

Following MTP Round 1, the most common plea from applicants was for BPL to utilize an online tool to manage the program. It's been a long process, but they are making it happen! Thank you, Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry!

See the announcement here: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MEDACF/bulletins/41a4b9f

See program guidelines here: https://www.maine.gov/dacf/parks/grants/maine-trails-program.shtml

06/03/2026

🌲 GRANT OPPORTUNITY FOR OXFORD, FRANKLIN, & SOMERSET COUNTIES! 🌲

Our friends at Volunteer Maine just announced the ConSERVE Maine Mini-grant opportunity, offering up to $10,000 to support community-centered conservation projects!
If your town or organization is working on trail sustainability, energy efficiency, environmental education, flood resilience, or community health through local service and volunteerism, this is for you.

📍 Where: Exclusively for Oxford, Franklin, and Somerset Counties.
🏢 Who: Municipalities, non-profits, tribal governments, plantations, townships, or unorganized territories.
🤝 The Core Requirement: Projects must engage at least two individuals in service (volunteers, interns, fellows, or Corps members).

📅 Important Dates:
June 24, 2026 (12-1 PM): Informational Webinar
July 29, 2026 (5 PM): Applications Due

👉 Register for the webinar: https://mainestate.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wtgMl_r_SMWs7hazdlQoYQ
👉 Learn more & apply today: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YNNCV7G

(Note: Questions can be directed to Lucy Martin, Program Officer, at [email protected])

06/02/2026

June is Love Maine Trails Month, and this year we are celebrating the power of everyday stewardship!

Over the last four years, Love Maine Trails Month has grown from a small initiative into a statewide opportunity to recognize how deeply Mainers connect with their local trails.

In past years, our members have reported 5000 hours of volunteer time devoted to trail work each June! Despite a chilly spring, momentum is officially here, and Maine’s incredible trail clubs and land trusts are hitting the ground running.

How to participate in :

✏LEARN: Follow along all month as we share resources.
⛏GIVE: Go directly to your local land trust or trail club to join a June work list or make a donation!
📢SHARE: Use the hashtag to show us how you're giving back or practicing good etiquette on the land!

06/01/2026

Good news for MTP applicants: BPL has pushed the deadline out by 3 weeks. This won't change the timeline for announcing Maine Trails Program awards in the fall, but does give applicants a little more time to pull together robust applications.

Stay tuned for more details from the Bureau of Parks and Lands. They will be updating the online resources and sending more details by email soon!

https://www.maine.gov/dacf/parks/grants/maine-trails-program.shtml



Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry

05/28/2026

"Life With Less Driving" will be a keynote address at next week's Build Maine conference in Skowhegan! Sarah Goodyear, podcast co-host for The War on Cars and co-author of "Life After Cars," will start the conversation from this perspective:

"Maine is one of the most car dependent states in the country. The costs of a car dependant society are piling up with massive, unforeseen consequences for our health, environment, budgets and society. Are conversations about alternative forms of transportation relevant to Maine, the most rural state in the country? Given our aging population, rising fuel and energy prices, and our ecotourism-based economy, should Maine consider other ways to structure our transportation system?"

https://www.build-maine.com/conference-2026

05/18/2026

Great news for MTB in southern Maine!

05/15/2026

"At the center of the debate are utility task vehicles, known as UTVs or side-by-sides. Traditional ATVs carry one or two riders; UTVs can carry up to six people, plus cargo. They’ve grown from 40- to 48-inches wide and 300-600 pounds 30 years ago, up to 72 inches and as much as 3,000 pounds today."

“We’ve got everything from parents taking their kids out — because they can put them in the back seat, strap them down safely in a four-seater with the car seats right in there with helmets on —all the way up to the the folks in their 80s that are just out there to ride slow,” said Doug Dickinson, founder and president of the Maine ATV Coalition."

"Land ownership is changing, however, and there are now more landowners, making it harder to balance recreation against the rights of property owners, who do not get compensated for public recreation on private property. Landowners concerns include liability, noise, environmental damage, off-trail and reckless, and litter. They are also worried about trails and bridges, which were built for smaller, lighter machines."

"For this season at least, the status quo remains in place. Most people connected to the recreational use of these off-road vehicles are taking a wait-and-see approach to the season at hand."

Read the full story: https://tinyurl.com/58upbn8e

Thank you, Christopher Wheelock of the Sun Journal, for the excellent reporting on this important topic.

The push for wider, heavier vehicles is the last straw for many landowners.

05/13/2026

✨A major collaborative effort was released yesterday: Meeting the Moment: An Environmental Policy Guide for Maine.

This guide aims to educate the public and policymakers on 46 specific recommendations to protect Maine’s natural legacy. From Sovereign Wabanaki Nations to Clean & Affordable Energy, these pillars reflect the values motivate Mainers to care for our natural resources.

We appreciate the hard work of the leading organizations that brought this project to life. Thriving communities are key to meeting the challenges ahead, and this report will help guide lawmakers and residents through the years ahead.

Check it out: https://tinyurl.com/yc2z9vhb

Multi-part Report