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Racing to the Finish - CELT's Tri for Preservation
 This past Sunday at 5 a.m. the gates at Crescent Beach State Park swung open for our fourth and final Noyes, Hall & Allen Tri for Preservation. After a ten-year run of successful races, CELT is most likely bidding farewell to this annual event in order to focus on different activities. This year's race combined a competitive field of top athletes, triathlon newcomers, relay teams, and volunteers for a successful race on a beautiful morning. Athletes of all ages seemed excited to participate and universally praised our stellar volunteers and venue.
Cape resident Zev Myerowitz was our overall winner, for the third year in a row, with Meghan Skidmore of Intervale, New Hampshire taking first overall for the women. Click on these links for  details, images and results.
The success of this event is shared with our sponsors, most notably Noyes, Hall & Allen Insurance of South Portland, which  has served as the title sponsor of our race from its humble beginnings through Sunday's event. Thanks also go out to our wonderful volunteers who showed up in the pre-dawn light to assist athletes, cook pancakes, provide on-the-water safety, and help coordinate the myriad other details associated with the race.
Most of all we need to acknowledge our intrepid race director Ted Darling, who has coordinated this event for the past decade. In addition to his considerable talents as a performance athlete and marketing guru, Ted is a great and positive person to whom we are exceedingly thankful.
Three cheers to all who participated for a race well run - and for helping to raise $14,000 for land conservation in Cape Elizabeth.
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Robinson Woods II Trail Work to Begin This Fall
After significant planning and preparation, CELT is inching closer to installing our new trails at the  Robinson Woods II property. In late July the Department of Environmental Protection gave final approval to our 200-page application for new trails and water crossings at the property.
Throughout September CELT and the Cape Elizabeth Conservation Commission will be jointly holding a number of trail workdays to clear and harden trails, and to build and install water crossings. We're hoping to have the new trails and bridges open for access later this fall.
If you're interested in helping us on the trails, please contact our office and we will get you on our distribution list for upcoming volunteer opportunities.
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Keep Cape Green - Support Our Local Farms
Do you know Cape Elizabeth has over 20 small farms growing food and flowers, seedlings and
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painting by John Santoro
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Christmas trees, raising livestock and poultry, boarding and training horses? We even have a vineyard now, off Hannaford Cove Rd. These small farms not only provide us with bucolic vistas, but contribute significantly to our local economy, in many ways. As fall nears, many non-gardeners tend to think our growing season is ending. In fact, August - early November is an abundant harvest season in Cape Elizabeth (which enjoys the longest growing season of any region in the entire state). So before you run to the grocery store, check out what you can feed your family from our local farms. You'll be supporting our neighbors, enjoying the freshest foods, and helping to keep Cape 'green'.
We have three fully-operational farm stands: on Wells Rd., Fowler Rd., and Old Ocean House, open 7 days/week, where buyers can access a broad range of foods raised on farms all over town, and all around the state. Jordan's (on Wells Rd.) and Green Spark Farm (on Fowler) are open until Thanksgiving; Alewive's Brook Farm (Old Ocean House Rd.) stays open year-round (and sells seafood too). For more details, go to the Cape Farm Alliance website, where you can sign up to receive their newsletter.
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Homecoming
Already late August and the bittersweet final days of summer seem to be ever more precious. Having just returned from an extended trip to the Pacific Northwest, I have been reveling in how beautiful Maine is, and how fortunate we are to live in such remarkable surroundings.
 My trip to the west coast also served as an important reminder of how local land trusts have become so ingrained in our corner of the country. In over three weeks of travel throughout California, Oregon and Washington, we visited some spectacular parks, yet not once did I see reference to a land trust or see any land trust signs. While land trusts certainly exist throughout the country, New England has the highest concentration of land trusts in the nation. There are many reasons for this, including the fact that this area has been settled for a longer time, but it also speaks to the strength of our communities, and the families who choose to preserve the public use and enjoyment of their land.
Preserving lands cherished by our community is our mission, and upon returning home it is abundantly clear that this community will be able to continue to cherish some pretty spectacular places, and hopefully many more, in the years to come.
Now back to work!
Chris Franklin
Executive Director
Cape Elizabeth Land Trust
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