The South Portland Land Trust has begun planning an extensive series of pedestrian and recreational trails that will traverse much of the western portion of the city.

The Land Trust will also be partnering with the city of South Portland and the state’s Department of Environmental Protection to improve water quality for five South Portland watersheds. The first watershed project, already underway, is the cleanup of the Long Creek Watershed, including Clark’s Pond.

The Land Trust is forming a West End Trails Committee, comprised of representatives from city and state government, local businesses and neighborhoods, area developers, utilities, and environmental organizations, to begin mapping and raising money for a series of pedestrian and recreational trails extending west of Evans Street and extending through scenic areas and neighborhoods, including the Maine Mall area.

“We expect this to be the most extensive trails project in the history of South Portland,” said Land Trust President Tom Blake. “We will connect many neighborhoods and different areas in the western part of South Portland, making access much easier for pedestrians to reach such areas as the Maine Mall area while traversing some of South Portland’s most scenic and historic locations.”

Anyone interested in working on the trails project planning, or anyone seeking more information, can call the Land Trust at 799-2900.