Abbreviation | MITA |
---|---|
Founded | 1988 |
Founders | Dave Getchell Sr. |
Type | Nonprofit |
Headquarters | 100 Kensington Street, Portland, Maine |
Location |
|
Area served | Coastal Maine |
Services | Conservation Preservation |
Executive Director | Doug Welch |
Key people | Brian Marcaurelle (program director) |
Website | https://mita.org/ |
The Maine Island Trail Association (abbreviated MITA) is a grassroots, volunteer-run conservation and preservation group based in Portland, Maine, United States. It was co-founded by David Getchell Sr. in 1988, following a land survey, conducted by the State of Maine, of the state's uninhabited coastal islands. The survey discovered around 1,300 unclaimed geographical features, including islands and sandbars. [1]
It also manages the Maine Island Trail, a recreational water trail which runs the entire coast of Maine, [2] connecting (as of 2023) 182 island and 76 mainland sites available for day visits or overnight camping. [3] MITA itself does not own any land; [4] it supports land trusts and private landowners in the upkeep of its islands. [2] [5] [6] On private and state-owned properties, public access is provided in exchange for MITA's caretaking. [4]
As of 2023, MITA has almost 10,000 members. [7] Its executive director is Doug Welch, [8] while its program director is Brian Marcaurelle. [9] [10]
MITA was co-founded by David R. Getchell Sr., [7] a native of Bangor, Maine. He died in 2018, aged 89. [11]
Maine is the easternmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and northwest, respectively. Maine is the largest state in New England by total area. Of the 50 U.S. states, it is the 12th-smallest by area, the 9th-least populous, the 13th-least densely populated, and the most rural. Maine's capital is Augusta, and its most populous city is Portland, with a total population of 68,408, as of the 2020 census.
Michael Herman Michaud is an American businessman and politician from Maine. Michaud served as the U.S. representative for Maine's 2nd congressional district from 2003 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The primarily rural district comprises nearly 80% of the state by area and includes the cities of Lewiston, Auburn, Bangor, Presque Isle, and Ellsworth. It is the largest Congressional district by area east of the Mississippi River.
The University of Southern Maine (USM) is a public university with campuses in Portland, Gorham and Lewiston in the U.S. state of Maine. It is the southernmost of the University of Maine System. It was founded as two separate state universities, Gorham Normal School and Portland University. The two universities, later known as Gorham State College and the University of Maine at Portland, were combined in 1970 to help streamline the public university system in Maine and eventually expanded by adding the Lewiston campus in 1988.
James Bernard Longley Sr. was an American politician. He served as the 69th Governor of Maine from 1975 to 1979, and was the first Independent to hold the office. In 1949, he married the former Helen Angela Walsh, who died on September 13, 2005. They had five children, including former Republican U.S. Representative James B. Longley Jr..
Chellie MariePingree is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Maine's 1st congressional district since 2009. Her district includes most of the southern part of the state, including Portland and Augusta.
Bradbury Mountain State Park is a public recreation area in the town of Pownal, Cumberland County, Maine, managed by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. The state park covers 730 acres (300 ha).
Baker Mountain is a wild, trail-less mountain located in Beaver Cove, Piscataquis County, Maine. It is flanked to the northwest by Lily Bay Mountain. Elephant Mountain is about 2 miles (3 km) to the southwest, and White Cap Mountain is about 5 miles (8 km) to the east.
Saddleback Maine is a ski resort located in Sandy River Plantation, near Rangeley, Maine, on the northwestern slopes of Saddleback Mountain. It is the largest independent ski area on the east coast, in terms of number of skiable acres (600). It has (6) lifts, (85%) snowmaking percentage, vertical drop, and skier days. After almost five years of closed doors, Saddleback Mountain was sold to the Arctaris Impact Fund and reopened on December 15, 2020.
The Maine Island Trail is a recreational water trail that spans the entire coast of Maine, connecting over 200 islands and mainland sites available for day visits or overnight camping. The 375-mile (604 km) trail is operated by the Maine Island Trail Association (MITA), a non-profit membership organization based in Portland, Maine, with over 6,000 members. Trail properties are owned by private landowners, conservation organizations, and federal, state and municipal agencies, all of whom make their land available to MITA members in exchange for Leave No Trace use and careful stewardship. All sites—many of which are concentrated between Casco Bay and Mount Desert Island—are accessible by personal watercraft, such as sea kayaks, sailboats or powerboats.
There are a number of wind power projects in the state of Maine, totaling more than 900 megawatts (MW) in capacity. In 2020 they were responsible for 24% of in-state electricity production. In 2019, Maine had more wind capacity than the other five New England states combined, at 923 MW.
Camden Hills State Park is a 5,710-acre (2,310 ha) public recreation area overlooking Penobscot Bay in the town of Camden, Knox County, Maine. The state park features multi-use trails to Mount Battie, Mount Megunticook, and other scenic locales. The park is managed by the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.
Shackford Head State Park is a public recreation area on Moose Island in the city of Eastport, Washington County, Maine. The 87-acre (35 ha) state park occupies a peninsula that separates Cobscook Bay and Broad Cove. The land is named for John Shackford, an American Revolutionary War soldier who once owned the headlands. The park is managed by the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.
Roque Bluffs State Park is a public recreation area on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in the town of Roque Bluffs, Washington County, Maine. The 274-acre (111 ha) state park overlooks Englishman Bay from Schoppee Point and includes 60-acre (24 ha) Simpson Pond and six miles of walking trails. Visitors can inspect glacial striations attesting to the Ice Age history of the Maine coast. The park is managed by the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.
Range Ponds State Park is a public recreation area wrapping around the eastern end of Lower Range Pond in the town of Poland in Androscoggin County, Maine. The state park offers a sandy beach with lifeguard-supervised swimming, kayaking, limited motorized boating, hiking trails, and fishing. Mountain biking trails, built with the help of local volunteers, provide intermediate level, single-track loops off a central double-track trail that winds through mature pine and hardwood forests.
Eliot Raphael Cutler is an American former lawyer, political candidate, and convicted felon. He was twice an Independent candidate in Maine's 2010 and 2014 gubernatorial races. In 2010, he placed second in a multi-way race, receiving 208,270 votes, equaling 35.9%, narrowly losing to Republican Paul LePage. In 2014 he garnered only 8.4%, placing third behind both the Democratic candidate as well as LePage, who was re-elected with 48.2% of the vote. Cutler had previously served in the Carter Administration as part of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. In May 2023, Cutler pled guilty to four counts of possessing child pornography, after being arrested in March 2022.
The Maine Coast Heritage Trust is a nonprofit land conservation organization. Its conservation partner is the Maine Land Trust Network, which is one of its programs.
The Royal River Conservation Trust (RRCT) is a volunteer-run conservation group based in Yarmouth, Maine, United States. Established in 1988 and funded by its members, it owns many preserves and trail networks, and has assisted in the creation of town-owned parks and preserves, state parks and state wildlife-management areas. The trust, one of eighty land trusts in Maine, covers seven towns and cities in Androscoggin County and Cumberland County which form the watershed of the Royal River: Yarmouth, North Yarmouth, Pownal, New Gloucester, Gray, Durham and Auburn.
The Maine Land Trust Network promotes discussion among the eighty land trusts in Maine, United States. It was established in 1995.
Little Chebeague Island is an uninhabited island in Casco Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Maine, United States. It is located around 0.85 miles (1.37 km) west of the southern tip of the larger Great Chebeague Island. As its name implies, the two are connected—by a sand bar which appears at low tide.