BETHEL, Maine (AP) A group of nonprofits in Maine purchased several hundred acres of forestland as part of a larger conservation area that will result in a vast network of trails and open land for outdoor recreation.
The Portland Press Herald reports that the nearly 1,000 acres (404.7 hectares) purchased by the national Trust for Public Land, the Bethel-based trail organization Mahoosuc Pathways and the Northern Forest Center in New Hampshire will become the Bethel Community Forest. It is now part of 3,500 acres (1,416.4 hectares) of conserved land between Bethel and Sunday River.
About $2.25 million in private donations and governments grants were raised to purchase and manage Bethel Community Forest.
A Sept. 14 trail race and half marathon between Bethel and Sunday River’s peaks will be the first event on the full acreage.
