CARRABASSETT VALLEY -- The Western Mountains Foundation has recently been engaged in negotiations with various entities regarding different possibilities for trail routes to huts located in Carrabassett Valley and in the vicinity of Flagstaff Lake.

"We've started discussing and evaluating the location of a cross-country ski trail on land owned by the Penobscot Indian Nation," said Larry Warren, the Chairman of the WMF, in an interview on Monday.

The WMF had originally planned to route the trail through the Bigelow Preserve to a hut located just outside the preserve on Flagstaff Lake. However, staunch opposition from the Friends of Bigelow to the location of the hut and corresponding ski trail led the WMF to seek other alternatives.

Warren stated that the issue with the original proposal lay in the use of grooming equipment for cross-country ski trails, a use not allowed by the Bigelow Preserve Act. "Not grooming cross-country ski trails as far as we're concerned doesn't make any sense," he said.

The WMF has been negotiating with the Penobscot Indian Nation in order to find a feasible family-friendly route for cross-country ski trails in that area. A hut will be located on Carrabassett Valley Sanitary District land, and the original proposal would have had a connecting ski trail of between 10 and 12 miles long to a hut on the southeastern corner of the lake. Warren said that a more northerly hut location would add 2.5 miles to the trail, and a location on the other side of the lake would add several additional miles.

"It then becomes a daunting task for a 12-year old to ski 16 or 17 miles," he said.

Another proposal would maintain a 10-12 mile distance by having a hut located east of the lake. The trail in question would go past scenic Poplar Stream Falls and would then pass a series of small ponds and bogs.

"We're trying to avoid conflicts with logging," said Warren. He pointed out that because of the boggy nature of the terrain, logging equipment could not be used in the area where the trail would pass.

The land in the remote area is home to many kinds of plant and animal life. "From an ecology point of view, it's pretty neat," said Warren.

He added that the multi-use trail would present opportunities for mountain biking, as it would connect with the Narrow Gauge Pathway. Skiers could access it in the winter from an unplowed area behind the former site of the Red Stallion Restaurant.

Negotiations with Central Maine Power Company and Florida Power and Light for routing the trail along the east end of Flagstaff "have been going very well," according to Warren. The WMF has also been engaged in negotiations with Plum Creek to acquire a 2.5-mile long segment of land for a trail to connect with the Appalachian Trail corridor.

The WMF hopes to complete land negotiations within the next two months, and will then begin purchasing land to construct the trail in Carrabassett Valley and along the lake. Warren said that construction could start as early as next spring.