ORONO – Orono Bog Boardwalk Director Ron Davis announced Aug. 18 that the boardwalk has been offered $50,000 by an anonymous donor. Davis was informed recently of the offer by the donor’s Bangor attorney. To receive the funds, the boardwalk must raise $50,000 in matching funds from other sources.

The funds are to help build a boardwalk endowment whose earnings will be used to maintain the facility and continue its educational programs. The endowment is held by the University of Maine Foundation.

The nearly mile-long wetland boardwalk was conceived by its founders as a permanent facility, so that the people of the Bangor area and visitors to the area may continue to experience the beauty of a pristine wetland and learn about its natural history, said Davis, a retired University of Maine biologist.

The boardwalk begins in the Bangor City Forest and crosses the town line onto University of Maine land in Orono. UMaine, the Orono Land Trust and the city of Bangor jointly manage the boardwalk as a community facility.

However, no separate budget lines are dedicated to the boardwalk by those organizations. The boardwalk is supported primarily by grants and donations. It is open free of charge to users. Actual operation of the facility is carried out by volunteers, including, this season, 24 docents who greet and guide visitors, and answer questions about bog wildlife and ecology.

The boardwalk opened to the public in June 2003. Its instant popularity is indicated by registration records. The 15,650 visits to the facility in 2003 consisted mainly of Bangor-area residents but included many persons from elsewhere in Maine, other states, and more than 15 foreign countries.

Registrations to date this season suggest an equal or greater number of visits than in 2003. Those visits include groups from many schools and clubs – for which the boardwalk provides expert guides free of charge, and a series of weekend nature walks guided by boardwalk docents to inform participants about the ecology, plants, and animals of the bog.

The boardwalk has become increasingly popular with tourists to the area. The continued success of this facility depends on the support of Bangor-area residents and businesses, officials said. Major donors to the boardwalk are posted at the boardwalk information area.

Area residents and visitors may help the boardwalk obtain the $50,000 challenge grant by making a donation to the Boardwalk Endowment Fund, University of Maine Foundation, 2 Alumni Place, Orono 04469.

To obtain more information about the boardwalk, visit www.oronobogwalk.org, e-mail Ron Davis at ronald.davis@umit.maine.edu, or call 866-4785 or 866-4786 before 8:30 p.m.