A Short History of the Orono Land Trust

     Orono has a system of trails, some of which have existed for at least one hundred years.  Strings of trails, knots of trails, trails on town and school property, trails in a wilderness park, trails on private lands, or through the University of Maine forest, and trails on land owned by the Orono Land Trust. At the present time Orono has at least ten miles of trails on more than 200 acres of land open to the public, with connecting trails on private land provided by the good will of the owners.

     Fifteen years ago, ninety percent of the trails traveled over privately owned land and were informally maintained by constant use and by intermittent spurts of pruning and blazing by the users. The only trails on public land were those used by the cross-country track team on about fifty acres of Orono school property and in the UM forest.

     In 1986, the Orono Land Trust was incorporated as a non-profit organization with the mission of preserving Orono's trail system for public use and integrating it into any plans for town development. The trail system was envisioned as public greenways connecting larger parcels of public land that would give walkers and skiers a feeling of "getting away from it all" and yet be accessible within a ten-minute walk from most houses in Orono.

     In 1986, a forty-four acre parcel of land just to the north of Forest Avenue was put up for sale. The development of this property threatened a particularly valuable knot of trail loops and also would have made it impossible to travel from the north end of town, near Stillwater Avenue to Kelley Road, by trails, as people were accustomed to doing. This came as a shock to many who had taken for granted the privilege of using private trails as if they were public.  It took this shock plus many pie sales, yard sales, a Land and Water Conservation Grant, and outright donations of money from many people to enable the Orono Land Trust to buy this key property. In order to qualify for the LWC Grant, the town had to officially own the property.  There were no town funds available for this purchase so the Orono Land Trust gave the required funds to the town.  The property is now an official park designated as the Colburn Natural Area and it acts as a centerpiece for four of Orono's major residential areas.

     A large parcel of land with a concentration of trail loops was added to the public domain when David Sklar donated over fifty acres to be held by the town of Orono as a wilderness park in memory of his father, Ben Sklar.  This property is about a half mile from the school property trails.  Both Sklar Park and the school property extend from population centers of the town out to I-95 and lie between Forest Avenue and Kelley Road, to the south of the town's center of population.

     In the thirteen years of the Orono Land Trust's existence, several more parcels have been acquired or protected by easement, providing large greenspaces within walking distance of the residents of the eastern half of Orono.  These parcels include fifty acres just a stone's throw from the Penobscot River, several waterfront parcels overlooking the Penobscot, a connector from Forest Avenue to the Colburn Natural Area off Forest Avenue, and an easement on the Outdoor Classroom developed by Diamond International and now owned by Fort James and located in the eastern edge of town.  See town trail map.

     In case you happen to search for the trail heads before you acquire a map, you will find Colburn Natural Area entrances at the end of Forest Hill Terrace off Forest Avenue just before you go west over I-95 or you can approach it from behind MBNA in the Orono Research Park.  To access the Marsh Island Preserve go to the end of North Penobscot Street. North Penobscot Street starts at the end of North Main Street and follows the Penobscot River. As you do this, you will pass the Water District Building.  The waterfront property of OLT goes from there to the railroad track. For a really wonderful educational experience on easily accessible trails, go to the Outdoor Classroom found on the left just as you cross from Orono to Old Town on Park Street.

     Orono Land Trust signs have been placed at all trail heads. We have workdays twice a year to improve the trails.  A newsletter is published quarterly to announce activities which include picnics, workshops, lectures, canoe trips, and ski outings in addition to our workdays.

     The public is cordially invited to join our activities, and use our trails.  We welcome new members. For maps and more trail information, stop by or call the Orono Recreation Department. For activity and meeting information call Deta Pearce (866-2296) or David Chase (866-3993).