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Current Projects
Introduction
Thank you for visiting our web page for the proposed
Pondicherry Park in Bridgton, Maine.
Here you will find photographs of the landscape that will
eventually become the new Pondicherry Park and a map*
depicting its location and boundaries.
Most importantly, we have created a way for you to become a part
of this new landscape by donating to the project. Either download a donation form to send to our office or contribute online with a credit card through JustGive. Either way your contribution is significant to our success!
If you would like to read a recent story published in Lake Living, click here.
To view an October 2007 television news clip by WCSHC Channel 6, click here.
What is Pondicherry Park?
Some call it Bridgton’s new Central Park. This emerald isle is a stone’s throw from Bridgton’s Community center, where more than 59 acres of woods, wetlands and 3,200 feet of stream remain virtually untouched. It is as if a section of downtown Bridgton was forgotten by time.
Loon Echo Land Trust and the Lakes Environmental Association have teamed up with the Town of Bridgton, foundations and civic groups to raise the resources required to purchase the property and to construct access bridges to link the land with the Stevens Brook Trail and down town Bridgton. We anticipate this new park to be a center point of recreational use in the heart of Bridgton.
Please read the donor booklet, developed in 2007, for further background on this project.
Mission Statement
Pondicherry Park is a protected landscape of woods, wildlife habitat, wetlands and streams attracting people to low-impact recreation, education, and study – a unique public park in the center of Bridgton, Maine.
How did this idea for a new park get started?
Like many ideas, this project got its start through the alignment of several conversations by people interested in protecting the natural landscape of Maine. Through his work on the Bridgton Economic Development Committee, Peter Lowell, Executive Director of LEA, began to see that by combining three pieces of private property offered by interested land owners this new park could be born. The Lakes Environmental Association works to protect the water quality and watersheds of the northern Sebago-Long Lake Region. Loon Echo Land Trust was founded to conserve special landscapes of the northern Sebago Lake Region. Combined these two non-profits generate the synergy required to bring this once-in-a lifetime opportunity to fruition.
What is the time schedule for this project?
We are in the midst of our fundraising campaign and have raised $402,000 towards a total budget of $600,000, which includes funds for the land purchases and park design. As of December 31, 2007 all the property has been purchased from the Worthington, Keene and Cook families. The Flint family donated the remaining seven acres on New Year’s Eve. The next phase of the project is centered around park design and construction. We anticipate the campaign will be completed in the winter of 2008.
Soon after the park is open to the public, a permanent conservation easement will be developed to protect the natural areas, such as the floodplain, wetlands, and vernal pools. Finally a management plan will be developed and the park will be gifted to the Town of Bridgton.
What types of activities will be permitted in this new park?
The intentions of the current owners is that this new park be kept in it natural state with minimal impacts to the natural resources. The specific uses are still being discussed but the goal is to create a public open space where hiking, fishing, kayaking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and nature study are accessible from the center of town. A short walk over a bridge from the center of town will land the visitors into the middle of a beautiful mature forest. Running or taking a stroll while escaping the noise of downtown will be at once easy and rewarding.
Will it cost to use the park and who will maintain it?
The park will be open and free to all visitors and residents of Bridgton. Although Loon Echo will be the purchaser of the land, the whole parcel will be gifted to the Town of Bridgton for their ownership, care and maintenance. Loon Echo Land Trust will, by the direction of the current owners, place a conservation easement on the property. This is a legal means that creates a permanent layer of protection on the property so that it will remain a natural place and that its defined uses are protected forever. Loon Echo Land Trust also has the responsibility to visit and monitor the park to ensure that the stipulations of the conservation easement are being honored.
How can I learn more about Pondicherry Park?
You may call Loon Echo Land Trust at 207-647-4352 and ask for additional information or an up- date on our fundraising progress. We would love to hear your ideas! Contact Us.
Park t-shirts are available for $20.00 at Main Street Graphics in downtown Bridgton and hats at Loon Echo for $12.00.
Click on a thumbnail below to enter the photo gallery
*downloads best with high speed connection
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