New signs, kiosks in Casco recreational forest – KeepMEcurrent.com

CASCO – In an era where access to outdoor recreation areas is limited and towns deal with encroaching suburban growth, the 5,000 wooded acres on private lumber company land in Casco is seen as a boon for outdoors enthusiasts.

Now, new trail signs and kiosks being unveiled this week will make using the trails a lot easier.

Hancock Lumber Co. and its sister company, Hancock Land Co., are unveiling new kiosks, maps and signage on Friday, May 4, in an effort to improve access to and navigation of an existing trail network on one of its largest working forests, Jugtown Forest.

And while the land has been accessible by the public for generations, the company will hold a symbolic ribbon cutting and grand opening to highlight and publicize the existence of the large acreage.

The contiguous 5,000-acre forest, situated in the towns of Casco, Naples and Otisfield, has been open to the public since 1848, when the company opened its first saw mill, Decker Mill, on land adjacent to the Crooked River in what is now called Jugtown Forest. All sorts of activities are allowed, including hiking, bicycling, fishing, and seasonal pursuits such as hunting, ATVing and snowmobiling.

But while the public has been allowed access for more than 160 years, navigating the large property was difficult since there were few directional signs. The unveiling on Friday promotes a new trail map, two new trailhead kiosks and trail signage that should help to foster even more use, company officials say.

“It’s pretty amazing, it’s a great little hidden treasure,” says Hancock Lumber’s spokeswoman Erin Plummer.

One of the kiosks is located at the end of Edes Falls Road in Casco, accessed just north of Casco Village, beyond Hancock Lumber’s main office. The other is located on Ellen Drive, off Jugtown Road in Naples. Both feature large maps and paper map guides that users can take with them on the trail.

The kiosks were made by an in-house sign maker, Plummer said. Hancock employees then installed the kiosks. The kiosks are for educational purposes only. Users do not have to sign in or pay a fee to gain entry.

While trails are nothing new in Jugtown Forest, trail markers and maps are, and due to the growth of the system have become a necessity.

“It has always been a major trail system for the snowmobile clubs since the ’60s and ’70s,” said Jeff Hall, land manager for Hancock Land Co. “Then when ATVS came in, they asked if they could use it, so they’ve established a trail system through there. We’ve had a lot of dogsledders and horseback riders and every other thing under creation has used it. But everybody had a different map. So we said, let’s put some names on some roads and let’s make some maps. So we have named all the internal roads in there. There’s 19 miles of trail in there.”

The name Jugtown Forest is a mystery, Hall added.

“It’s a matter of debate. Most of us thought it dealt with Prohibition times, that there was a lot of bootlegging taking place there. But others say it was for different reasons. I guess we really don’t know,” Hall said.

Hall said the area is located in the Jugtown Plain, which features all sorts of topography, including rolling hills and flat sections. Most of the existing trail network offers pathways about 10 feet wide maintained by local ATV and snowmobile clubs, as well as the company, which harvests eastern white pine from the property.

Most of the trails are logging roads, but there are a couple main roads that Hall said were town roads back in the 1800s that have been discontinued.

“And the balance is just bisecting logging roads that loop around through there,” he added. “Some haven’t been used in a while so they’ve grown in, but generally most are 9-10 feet wide.”

Hall said the national nonprofit Nature Conservancy holds an easement on 3,300 acres of the property mainly due to the forest’s native stands of pitch pine. The company doesn’t harvest the pitch pine.

“It’s part of a conservation easement, and that’s because it’s the most northern pitch pine barren in the United States. The ecological reason for the Nature Conservancy is the flora and fauna that go along with it. So that was their interest,” Hall said.

In the Jugtown Forest, “We have a certain management plan that is different from what we do on the rest of our land, which will help promote the pitch pine in that area, which will in turn help other species,” Hall said. “So we don’t saw it. Eastern white pine is by far largest species we harvest in the Jugtown area. It’s our lifeblood. It’s the only species all three of our mills saw.”

In an effort to formalize the trail network, Hall said, the company has spent thousands of dollars on signs, trail maps, kiosks and parking areas at access points.

“It’s the way the Hancock family has always been,” Hall said. “They’re always trying to give back to the community. The community is what supports their business so they try to provide recreational opportunities back to the public.”

And access continues to be free, unlike much of Maine’s lumber company-owned property, especially in northern Maine.

“In the northern woods near the Allagash for example, they charge you for access up there,” Hall said. “You’ve got to go through the gates and pay – it’s pay-to-play – where this is totally free entertainment.”