Council backs regional trail grant; Chebeag and Cumberland Land Trust reports 61‑acre Farwell Forest gift

The Cumberland Town Council on Sept. 22 voted unanimously to support a joint Maine Trails grant application from the Chebeag and Cumberland Land Trust (CCLT) and the Falmouth Land Trust.

Penny Asherman, speaking for CCLT, told the council the application requests the program maximum of $250,000 and would fund new trail construction, parking and access work at Watson Woods, and connector trails into Rhine’s Forest and other nearby conserved properties. “We will be creating new trails in Watson Woods, which we just acquired in July, and also a new trail through Merrill Forest,” Asherman said, adding that the organizations are negotiating a memorandum of understanding with Woodland Owners of Maine to allow a trail through privately owned demonstration forest land.

Asherman said the grant seeks to increase regional connectivity among existing trails stretching from North Falmouth Community Forest through Knights Pond and that the funding will be used to build durable trails and a parking area at Watson Woods to withstand heavy public use. “We want to build good ones so that we’re making sure that they’re sustainable and can manage public use,” she said.

She also told the council that the trust recently received a 61‑acre gift from the Seekins family, a parcel called Farwell Forest that fills a gap between Rhine’s Forest and Knights Pond; the trust previously held an easement on 54 of those acres.

Councilors asked how grant funds could be used after construction; Asherman said the Maine Trails grant supports construction and the trust must demonstrate existing stewardship funds for maintenance. “We have to prove that we have funds already to maintain the trails and that’s something we do have — a stewardship fund that we maintain and add to annually,” she said.

Following the presentation, a councilor moved to support the grant application; the motion passed unanimously.