Forty-three statewide organizations, 192 local organizations, 75 cities and towns, 167 businesses, and 41 ATV and snowmobile clubs can’t be wrong … can they?

All of these entities last week lent their support to a $30 million bond to raise funding for the design, building and maintenance of motorized, non-motorized and multiuse trail projects throughout the state. If the proposal gets the necessary legislative approval, it will be sent to voters in a statewide referendum this November.

The creation of the so-called Maine Trails Bond, L.D. 1156, deserves to be approved by all parties.

A landmark investment in our trails can boost economic activity statewide (and in rural areas where it is particularly needed), attracting residents and tourists alike; supporting environmental and climate goals by protecting valuable swaths of our coasts, mountains and woodlands and promoting transit by many means other than car or truck; and making a meaningful contribution to public health by inviting people to get out in the air and get moving – year-round.

“Many of the trails we love wouldn’t exist without dedicated volunteers and organizations operating on shoestring budgets, often competing for the same funding,” Silvia Cassano, project coordinator for the Bath-based Maine Trails Coalition, wrote in a Press Herald op-ed last year. The bond can change that, and we sincerely hope it does.

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