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KEEPING IT SIMPLE

Maine Island Trail Association (MITA) launched as a grassroots effort in 1988 by people seeking to visit and steward the uninhabited islands of Maine. While friend groups exist for many public parks, there are few—if any—others where a handshake agreement between one hundred disparate landowners and thousands of users and volunteers created a nationally known recreational entity.

The Maine Island Trail—which National Geographic dubbed one of the “50 Best American Adventures”— is the largest water trail association in North America and a model for other trails across the country.

GETTING STARTED

The idea of a coastal water trail was born in the late ’70s after a State of Maine land survey of the uninhabited coastal islands determined the state held title to some 1,300 unclaimed islands, rocks, ledges, and low-water bars. In the mid ’80s, the state collaborated with the nonprofit Island Institute to evaluate their recreational potential. Dave Getchell Sr., a founder of MITA, identified some forty suitable public islands, which formed the original Maine Island Trail.

A FIRST OF ITS KIND

“In studying this bounty [of islands],” Dave wrote in 1987, “it occurred to me that here was a rare chance to develop an outstanding waterway for small boats that would use the stateowned islands for overnight stops, similar to the way hikers use pathways like the Appalachian Trail.” This was the inception of what recreational boaters today call a water trail—a concept replicated over five hundred times in North America.

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE

The trail has steadily grown to encompass the entire coast of Maine—from New Hampshire to Canada—and to include well over 200 islands and mainland sites. Island owners recognize that MITA’s straightforward and time-honored system works toward protecting their property. While original trail islands were public property, private islands have been added and now eclipse the number of public islands.

FINDING YOUR WAY

The Maine Island Trail Guidebook is the best resource for exploring the trail, but it can’t be found at your local bookstore. MITA encourages stewards and users of Maine’s coast to support their work through annual membership. (How you get the guidebook!) Dues fund stewardship, education, and preservation management.

SHAKE ON IT

“I love the handshake model that underpins the Maine Island Trail,” says Brian Marcaurelle ’01, program director at MITA. “The trail is built on a foundation of generosity and trust, not contracts. Despite all the ways that might fail, it has stood the test of time. It’s wonderfully simple and distinctly Maine, and it has served MITA, property owners, and island-users well.” Marcaurelle oversees MITA’s stewardship operations, including caring for the properties on the trail, developing and maintaining landowner relationships, and managing partnerships with land trusts and the state. “I was a biology and environmental studies major at Bowdoin,” Marcaurelle says. “It was the outdoors that drew me to Maine, and Bowdoin only solidified my passion for the environment.” After graduating from the Yale School of the Environment, where his studies focused on balancing the use and preservation of land, Marcaurelle returned to Maine and began volunteering with MITA, which led to his full-time role.

For more on the Maine Island Trail Association, visit mita.org.

BOWDOIN ON THE TRAIL

Bowdoin owns two islands on the Maine Island Trail, Merritt Island (pictured, used by the Bowdoin Outing Club) and Wyer Island (part of the Schiller Coastal Studies Center), that are open to the public. “MITA keeps a watchful eye over the islands throughout the boating season while also helping to keep trails clear and the shoreline clean of marine debris,” says MITA program director Brian Marcaurelle ’01. “It’s a great example of how the trail works and how it can benefit all involved.”