At Boothbay Region Land Trust’s (BRLT) Annual Meeting in early September, Professor Todd Gabe of the University of Maine presented his findings from an economic impact study on the land trust’s 33 miles of hiking trails.

One attendee asked an interesting question, “How many of the hikers are hiking with their dog?” Gabe said while they didn’t tabulate it, anecdotally he figured close to 100 percent.

That’s right, canines throughout the region love the land trust trails. So BRLT is calling all canines to ask their owners to support the Stewardship Campaign’s public challenge to sustain the trails, boat access, working waterfront and environmental education provided by the land trust.

All of these community resources are available free of charge and only exist because of voluntary donations.

As of mid-September, over 200 households have generously supported BRLT’s Stewardship Campaign and the land trust is over halfway toward meeting its $500,000 public challenge by year’s end. All campaign expenses have been underwritten and all community challenge gifts and pledges received by December 31 will be matched.

To make a donation in honor or memory of your dog(s), please call BRLT at 207-633-4818; visit Skye at the office at 137 Townsend Avenue across from the Seagate Motel; go to www.bbrlt.org and make a donation to the campaign on behalf of your dog; or mail a check payable to BRLT with your dog’s name and favorite preserve to P.O. Box 183, Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538.

The land trust encourages dog owners to email photos of their donor dogs to brlt@bbrlt.org. The land trust will be featuring donor dogs on its website, on its Facebook page, and in the Boothbay Register. Donor dogs will also be included in a campaign thank you ad at year’s end.

BRLT welcomes dog owners to upload photos and stories of their dogs enjoying (and modeling good behavior) on the trails on its Facebook page.