The Orono Bog Boardwalk closed for the winter on Dec. 1, ending its first season of operation with a total of 15,560 visitors. Since we know that many boardwalk visitors fail to register, that number is conservative, and it is double our expectations.

In its first year, the boardwalk has become a major outdoor recreation destination in the Bangor area. It has attracted people from throughout the state, more than 15 other states, and more than 15 foreign countries.

Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised. The boardwalk traverses several fascinating environments in the pristine Orono Bog. It is a quiet and beautiful place for a leisurely mile-long walk. It can be a wonderful learning experience for those who are alert to the sights and sounds around them. The boardwalk connects to the East Trail in the Bangor City Forest and continues on University of Maine land in Orono. It will reopen next May.

The popularity of the boardwalk this year revealed that the demand for quiet outdoor recreation in a beautiful place is substantial and has positive implications for tourism and local businesses. By following a “build it and they will come” philosophy, we are capitalizing on an international trend that could hold more promise for Maine.

To help visitors appreciate the sights and sounds of the bog, eight informative, full-color signs have been placed at strategic locations along the walkway. A 16-page guidebook is available as well, containing many interesting facts about the boardwalk and the bog, including colored photographs of bog plants and flowers.

Many organizations in the Bangor area have availed themselves of the free, expert guided walks that are offered at the boardwalk. They include senior citizen clubs and day programs, medical institutions (including rehabilitation facilities and nursing homes), a garden club, university and college classes, and public and private school classes. We hope that more groups will take advantage of this opportunity next year.

Many people who use wheelchairs visited the boardwalk last year. Indeed, it is a friendly place for those who are not able to walk long distances. Wheel- chair turnarounds and benches for rest and contemplation are provided.

The boardwalk also hosted nine Saturday-morning nature walks. Guided by experts, these walks dealt with a range of subjects including bog ecology, bog birds and their habitats, wetland (a bog is a wetland) destruction and conservation, bog origins, long-term development and peat accumulation, bog plants and their adaptations, peat bogs for kids and water flow in the bog and its environmental implications.

Although some of these subjects may sound technical, they provide something of interest for persons of all ages and backgrounds. During the last nature walk of 2003, a group went to the remote center of the bog to view a full lunar eclipse, planets and other heavenly bodies. Special permission for this activity was obtained from the Bangor Parks and Recreation Department, because the Bangor City Forest is closed at night. All but three of these walks were fully subscribed.

We will offer an expanded program of Saturday-morning nature walks in 2004. Watch the boardwalk Web site (www.oronobogwalk.org) or local news media in late winter and early spring for the reopening date, nature walk announcements and registration details.

Before that date, volunteers will be needed to prepare the boardwalk for another season. During the winter, frozen soil will cause boardwalk sections to shift, and they will have to be realigned and leveled for safety and wheelchair accessibility.

We will need many volunteers to get the work done quickly and open the boardwalk as early as possible. Persons who would like to volunteer should contact Ron Davis, the director, at 866-4785.

The boardwalk is a public service of its sponsors: the University of Maine, Orono Land Trust, and city of Bangor. Boardwalk construction was funded by grants, many private cash gifts and donations of materials and services by local businesses. We are now in the midst of a fund-raising campaign to support an endowment to maintain the facility and operate its outdoor educational programs in the future. More information about this campaign is available from Jerry Longcore at 581-2874 (days) or 866-3104 (evenings and weekends).

Whether as a volunteer or a visitor, please come out to the boardwalk in 2004. We look forward to ensuring that the recreational opportunities afforded in 2003 are continued next year and beyond.

This commentary was submitted by the following members of the Orono Bog Boardwalk Management Committee: Jeremy Johnson, Orono Land Trust; Jerry Longcore, University of Maine; and Arthur Stockus, city of Bangor.