The Maine Island Trail Association (abbreviated MITA) is a

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...

, volunteer-run conservation and

preservation Preservation may refer to: Heritage and conservation * Preservation (library and archival science), activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record while making as few changes as possible * ''Preservation'' (magazine), published by the Nat ...

group based in

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

, United States. It was co-founded by David Getchell Sr. in 1988, following a land survey, conducted by the State of Maine, of the state's uninhabited coastal islands. The survey discovered around 1,300 unclaimed geographical features, including islands and

sandbars In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body of water close to the surface or ...

. It also manages the Maine Island Trail, a recreational water trail which runs the entire coast of

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, connecting (as of 2023) 182 island and 76 mainland sites available for day visits or overnight camping. MITA itself does not own any land; it supports land trusts and private landowners in the upkeep of its islands. On private and state-owned properties, public access is provided in exchange for MITA's caretaking. As of 2023, MITA has almost 10,000 members. Its executive director between 2007 and 2024 was Doug Welch. He was succeeded by Ben Dougherty. Its program director is Brian Marcaurelle.

David Getchell

MITA was co-founded by David R. Getchell Sr., a native of

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's List of municipalities in Maine, third-most populous city, behind Portland, Maine, Portland ...

. He died in 2018, aged 89.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maine Island Trail Association Organizations established in 1988 Nature conservation organizations based in the United States Environmental organizations based in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Maine 1988 establishments in Maine Organizations based in Portland, Maine

David Getchell

See also

References

External links