AUGUSTA, Maine — A statewide coalition is urging the Legislature to put the Maine Trails Bond on the November ballot to give Mainers the chance to vote on whether or not they feel the state's trails deserve state funding.
The coalition is pushing for $30 million to help make improvements and create new trails across Maine. The bill has more than 500 supporters, including towns, organizations and businesses like L.L Bean and the Maine Tourism Association.
"It's really important to see that the economic diversification efforts that happen in inland, rural Maine today are driven by growth in outdoor recreation," George O'Keefe, Rumford's Economic Development Director, said.
The bill proposes that $30 million be distributed to the Bureau of Parks and Lands for four years, $7.5 million every year. The bureau would distribute the funds to organizations and towns for trail projects.
"It would go both towards taking care of what we have and making it a little more resilient for a changing climate and investing in new infrastructure that meets those same requirements," Gabe Perkins, the executive director of Inland Woods and Trails, said.
This winter has posed many problems for outdoor recreation activities due to the lack of snow. But the historic rain and flooding caused significant infrastructure damage to the state's snowmobile trails.
"It's discouraging," Route 11 Streakers Snowmobile Club President Matt Baron said. "Typically right now we'd have 2-plus feet of snow on the trail. This typically would be some of our prime riding time right now."
Maine Snowmobiling Association President Al Swett estimates there has been about $12 million in losses this season.
"It's been the worst season that I can remember," Swett said.
The coalition said these funds can help the trails system rebuild what was damaged but also add new.
"Maine stands a chance to create and provide trail experiences and trail communities unlike anything I’ve seen in my career," Outdoor Sport Institute's assistant director, Steve Kasacek, said.
Kasacek has worked in trail development for 10 years and has planned more than 500 miles of trails in Maine. He and others said neighboring states' trails systems are outpacing Maine, but this funding can help build the industry.
"Maine is already a trail state, but we can redefine that image," he said. "We can be a leader in trails on the east coast and even the country."
The Appropriations Committee will decide whether to move the bill forward. If passed, it'll take a two-thirds vote in the House of Representatives and Senate in addition to Governor Mills' approval in order to get it on November's ballot.