Northern Forest Canoe Trail
New England, USA
Year | 2014
Phase | Construction
Size | Various
Responsibilities | Construction, management of volunteers
Categories | Land management
Construction Projects build as a member of the crew of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail to enhance the paddle-experience and promote the outdoor recreation economy of rural New England.
The Context:
As the only dedicated water trail crew in the Northeast United States, NFCT’s stewardship crew specializes in projects at the interface of land and water, including campsites, shelters and access points. The NFCT works with partners to implement projects along the river trail and throughout adjacent waterways of the Northern Forest.
Through quality management and collaborative community partnerships, the trail contributes to the economic resilience of the region while promoting the health of its lands and waters and providing access to the natural beauty of the region.
The site:
The Northern Forest Canoe Trail is considered one of the best water trails in North America. With its 1900km system of rivers, streams, and lakes following American Indian travel routes it connects New York, Vermont, Québec, New Hampshire, and Maine.
Projects were located along the trail in a variety of settings, from outskirts of towns, to private farms, to wilderness areas only reachable after 2 hours of paddling.
Because of the remoteness of the work sites, tools were limited to few power and hand tools.
Materials were mostly locally sourced and selected from the adjacent environment: rocks were selected and moved with winches, logs felled, debarked and shaped.
The construction:
Drawing on extensive experience working in challenging, ecologically sensitive, and often remote environments, the crew implemented practices that are flexible, durable, and innovative.
Our work included the construction of access stairs and ramps, aquatic invasive wash stations, a retaining wall, and a log lean-to.
