Cape Elizabeth Land Trust says the wide carriage trails at its new Davis Parcel allow for people to enjoy their walk shoulder to shoulder. Contributed / Cape Elizabeth Land Trust
The Cape Elizabeth Land Trust on Sunday officially opened trails on 15 acres of newly acquired land off Spurwink Avenue.
The land trust has had its eye on the Davis Parcel for a long time because it is a “trifecta of conservation,” according to Executive Director David Briman.
“It’s part of a significant habitat block, it’s got amazing recreational opportunities and it provides undeveloped protection for a portion of water that goes out into Casco Bay; it’s part of the Casco Bay watershed,” Briman said.
Arlen Davis sold the land that has been in his family for generations to the land trust. The family built wide carriage trails for horses on the property over the last 60 years. Davis’ mother was “a very accomplished equestrian,” Briman said.
The wide trails makes the Davis Parcel unique compared to other land trust properties.
“Unlike other trails in our area where you’re walking single file with your buddies or your family, this is shoulder to shoulder,” Briman said. “It’s definitely a different feel.”
Davis has volunteered to maintain the trails for the land trust.
“He’s just carefully continued to maintain these trails all these years and even continues to, notwithstanding the fact that he sold us this piece of property,” Briman said.
Other than the trails, the land is basically untouched, thanks to the Davis family’s decades of conservation efforts, said Chris Tullmann, vice president of the land trust.
“It hasn’t been impacted by much development,” he said. “It’s been preserved and protected for a long time within the family.”
Tullmann said Davis “has been incredible to work with. He very much cares about the property and its legacy.”
In recent weeks, the land trust completed a connecting trail from the Davis Parcel to its Cross Hill trail network. That network connects to the Dyer-Hutchinson Trail, which, in turn, connects to the Winnick Woods trail network.
Briman says he hopes not just Cape Elizabeth residents but others in Greater Portland will use the new trails, noting their proximity to Scarborough and South Portland.
“The only reason we do this in the first place is for the public,” Briman said. “That’s the payoff. It’s not just when we conserve the property, it’s when we get to see other people actually go out and enjoy it.”
For more information on the Davis Parcel and the June 9 grand opening of the trail, go to the land trust’s website, capelandtrust.org, or call 767-6054.
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