Orono Bog Boardwalk Open to the Public June 23
Contact: Media contact: Ronald Davis, Professor of Biology, 207-866-4785 (home), 207-659-6585 (cell); Nick Houtman, Dept, of Public Affairs, 207-581-3777
ORONO– Walking in a peat bog usually means picking one’s way gingerly across a soggy, spongy landscape. Now, with the opening of the Orono Bog Boardwalk on Monday, June 23, families and people in wheelchairs can join hikers in an easy stroll through an ecological treasure just north of the Bangor mall.
Located off the Tripp Drive entrance to the Bangor Forest, the 4,200-foot boardwalk provides a close-up glimpse of an ecosystem that has persisted for more than 10,000 years. It includes odiferous skunk cabbage, a thick expanse of mosses and plants that live on a diet of insects.
In 1974, the National Park Service designated the Orono Bog a National Natural Landmark for its qualities as an outstanding example of a northern peat bog. Construction of the boardwalk began in June, 2002. Led by University of Maine Professor of Biology Ron Davis of Orono, the project involved many local groups: the Maine Conservation Corps; the Orono Land Trust; the City of Bangor; UMaine; the carpentry crew from Charleston Correctional Facility; students from Orono High School, Eastern Maine Technical College, and United Technologies Center; and a host of volunteers.
The boardwalk will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. during the summer. No dogs or bicycles are allowed on the four-foot wide walkway. Benches for sitting and wide spots in the walk for a wheelchair to turn around have been placed at least every 200 feet. No public restroom facilities are yet available. Although informational signs won’t be placed along the boardwalk until later this summer, guides and docents will be present to answer visitors’ questions.
The boardwalk is reached from the Tripp Drive parking lot by a quarter mile walk along the East Trail. The trail has recently been improved to ease wheelchair travel. School and institutional groups can make advance arrangements for closer access (100 yards) or for special tours by contacting Davis, 659-6585 (cell), or at home before 8:30 p.m., 866-4785, or by e-mail.
Fund raising efforts for an endowment to maintain the boardwalk are ongoing, says Davis. The University of Maine Foundation has established a fund, and donations are welcome. Future plans include a picnic shelter near the boardwalk entrance. A dedication ceremony is planned for this summer.
More information about the boardwalk and the Orono Bog ecosystem are available via the Internet at www.oronobogwalk.org.