Thetford Trails Team purchasing parcel in Union Village Dam area
The parcel offers important recreation and conservation opportunities
Guest Commentary from Krista Karlson, Thetford Trails Team member
The Union Village Dam trail network is a widely used community resource. On any given day, walkers, birders, mountain bikers, and swimmers are out enjoying this special natural area.
In that spirit of community and shared investment, the Thetford Trails Team–a volunteer-run group dedicated to stewarding trails in town–is purchasing a key parcel of land in the Union Village Dam area. The parcel provides essential connections among the multi-user trails. It also provides ecological connectivity between the East and West Branches of the Ompompanoosuc River. We are currently about 60% of the way to our $100,000 fundraising goal.
In 2020, the Thetford Trails Team commissioned a Natural Resources Inventory of the Union Village Dam area. Since then, we've been steadily working on stewardship projects that align with the recommendations in the report. You may see evidence of this work throughout the network, including new bridges and boardwalks that improve safety and allow water and wildlife to move more freely beneath them. The team has also installed trail maps at five kiosks, and we are currently signing the trails to reduce the risk of getting lost. We’ve decommissioned redundant trails and invested time in building relationships with abutting landowners, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and other key stakeholders.
To support this work, the Thetford Trails Team recently incorporated as a nonprofit. Our mission is to foster individual and community health by encouraging access to Thetford’s outdoor resources via a sustainably managed network of multi-use trails. While our current focus is the Union Village Dam area, we hope to support other efforts around town as opportunities arise.
Most of the Union Village Dam trail network is on federal land managed by the Army Corps, with whom we have a stewardship agreement. The trails also cross a handful of privately owned parcels, including one parcel that is essential to the connectivity of the entire network. The landowner has expressed interest in selling to the trails team, and we now have an option agreement to purchase the land by the end of 2026. Owning the parcel will allow the trails team to steward the trail network in a more holistic and consistent way.
Fundraising is underway to purchase, conserve, and maintain the parcel. After the purchase, we plan to pursue a conservation easement to protect public multi-use access while conserving the parcel’s important ecological functions.
Excitingly, we’re about 60% of the way toward our $100,000 fundraising goal. We’re now seeking community support to reach the finish line. We hope Thetford community members will consider making a donation to help secure the long-term health of, and public access to, this special area.