for the A.T.’s
Northern Terminus
“A group of us are heading out on Saturday to clear a section of the A.T. — do you want to help? I’ll buy breakfast!” asked a friend. With those words, my involvement in the Maine Appalachian Trail Club (MATC) was launched over 30 years ago, along with lifelong friendships.
A retired civil engineer in my late 60s living in St. George, Maine, I now serve as president of the MATC and on various committees. As a lifelong Mainer who appreciates the value of spending time in unspoiled woodlands, I have found it rewarding to commit to maintaining and preserving the Appalachian Trail and its environment.
The mission of the Maine A.T. Club is to construct, maintain, and protect the Trail from Katahdin to Grafton Notch at Route 26. This includes the 267 miles of footpath, 60 miles of side-trails, 47 campsites, and 42,000 acres of corridor lands owned by the National Park Service and the state of Maine.
Over the past 10 to 15 years, the management and maintenance requirements for the Appalachian Trail and related facilities have evolved, and the need for volunteers to handle these challenges has grown. The level of expertise necessary to construct and maintain the Trail infrastructure has also increased considerably. To understand how to meet emerging needs, the MATC recently completed our first-ever strategic plan to help us develop and prioritize strategies to meet these and other challenges.
The outcome of the plan was the establishment of five goals, of which the highest priority is to develop a trail center to house the trail crew and its equipment. The MATC does not have a headquarters! We rely on space in garages and trailers to store equipment. We house crew members and volunteers in tents. The Maine trail crew, which operates across the state, has relocated six times over the last 30 years.
After careful consideration, MATC decided to construct a Maine trail center in Skowhegan, centrally located to the A.T. in Somerset County (about an hour south of Monson). In addition to providing meeting and living space for the crew, the center will host educational programs to train conservation/land management professionals and volunteers. The project has the endorsement of more than 20 conservation-focused organizations and has raised nearly $2 million. The ATC has supported our effort through advocating to the U.S. Congress for federal support for construction costs.
Annually, volunteers typically log 18,000 to 24,000 hours clearing blowdowns and brush; maintaining the footpath, campsites, signage, and shelters; monitoring the corridor boundary; and maintaining and building privies. Included in these hours is committee work necessary to oversee finances, provide governance, communicate with agency partners, and plan more extensive projects.
Like much of the population in Maine, the MATC volunteer corps is aging. The increased concentration of the state’s population in the greater metro-Portland area also creates challenges. To continue to share our tradition of building and caring for the A.T. in Maine, we need to engage the next generation(s).
The MATC leadership is eager to tap into the new ideas and passion for the Appalachian Trail, conservation, and outdoor recreation that new recruits can provide. We recognize that we need to develop new models for engaging younger volunteers who are busy with jobs and family commitments, and we welcome input from other A.T. club leaders who have made strides in this area.
The MATC will continue its long tradition of success with the construction of the trail center and recruitment efforts to attract new volunteers — continuing our relevancy to the next generation.