Courtesy/Maine Huts & Trails
Maine Huts & Trails maintains four ecolodges, or huts, including Flagstaff Hut, pictured here, on the east shore of Flagstaff Lake, a popular place for skiing, snowshoeing and fat biking in winter.
September 23, 2019
Maine Huts & Trails faces $500K shortfall
Maine Huts & Trails, a Kingfield-based nonprofit with four huts, or ecolodges, and an extensive trail network in western Maine for outdoor adventures, said Monday it faces a $500,000 budget shortfall that threatens its ability to open this winter.
As it looks at several fallback options including opening its lodgings for self-service staffed by volunteers, the 11-year-old organization is appealing for donations by Nov. 1 "to help build a brighter future."
The group also said it hopes to keep working on a new operating model to achieve sustainability and maintain its vision of an economically robust region recognized nationally for outdoor recreation and an ecologically significant landscape.
Maine Huts & Trails said its winter closure would impact not only its lodgings, but also access to 50 miles of cross-country skiing and fat biking trails — attractions used by Maine residents, out-of-state visitors and school groups.
In its history, the organization has created a resource that has earned national recognition and attracted 76,000 overnight visits from 48 states and 18 countries, while stimulating environmentally sensitive development in the region. Maine Huts & Trails has had an estimated $52 million economic impact largely in Somerset and Franklin counties.
With a nearly $1 million payroll offering 50 full and part-time jobs, each year the organization spends more than $400,000 locally and with small Maine businesses for food, services and supplies.
While achieving its mission goals, Maine Huts & Trails said it has not generated sufficient lodging revenues and annual giving to cover costs, which include refurbishment and replacement of key assets.
To address the financial shortfall, the organization needs to raise a minimum of $500,000 to open for the winter, and more than $1 million to pursue its strategic plan to restructure its financial model for long-term sustainability.
"Despite the tireless efforts of many hard-working people, our current model is not producing adequate revenues to fund the organization over the long term," said Bob Peixotto, chairman of the organization's board of directors, in Monday's news release.
"We are hopeful we will secure the resources for winter and that our restructuring plan will ensure Maine Huts & Trails experiences will be here for generations of adventurers to enjoy," he added, noting that a pause in operations "would mark lost opportunities for the people we employ and serve, the community and the region, as well as a loss of momentum that will be difficult to recapture."
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