This past year the Boxford Trails Association/Boxford Open Land Trust (BTA/BOLT) collaborated with the Quebec-Labrador Foundation (QLF) Atlantic Center for the Environment to produce a unique trail guide for Boxford. The guide is for all forms of passive recreation including walking, hiking, horseback riding, X-C skiing, snowshoeing, mountain biking and bird watching. Through an ENHC Partnership Grant, and BTA/BOLT monies, QLF was able to train volunteers to use GPS for field mapping. Over twenty resident volunteers helped produce the wonderful trail guide. Local involvement fostered local ownership and pride in the mapping project. Currently QLF is in the process of producing another map for trails in the towns of Essex and Manchester.

The fifth annual Trails & Sails was a great success that tested the perseverance and mud boots of its event leaders and participants alike. More than 2,700 participants took advantage of the 161 free events hosted by 85 heritage sites and organizations throughout the Essex National Heritage Area. The weekend was an exciting, special opportunity to celebrate the resources that contribute to the richness of the Area. We appreciate all of the event leaders who braved the weather - not one event was cancelled due to rain! If you could not join us this year, save the date for 2007, when the 6th annual Trails & Sails will be held on September 29-30! If you were able to attend a Trails & Sails event this year take a moment to complete our online survey!

Trails & Sails 2006 is generously sponsored by TD Banknorth, North Shore 104.9, Eagle Tribune Publishing Co., and Eastern Bank. We appreciate their continued support.

The ENHC welcomes Richard Adelman, owner of Topsfield’s Alfalfa Farm Winery as a new Commissioner. An historic farm that blends the latest in winemaking technology, creative events, wine- tastings and a community-supported agriculture program, the Alfalfa Farm is truly a valuable community resource and creative venue for a corporate, non-profit or private event. Richard has embraced a number of ENHC opportunities to promote Alfalfa Farm and to gain new audience through innovative partnerships. In addition to being an annual site for Trails & Sails and Explorer events, Alfalfa Farm hosts a variety of non- credit classes available through North Shore Community College, where Richard serves as a professor in the Behavioral Sciences Department. Learn more about Alfalfa Farms Winery through their website AlfalfaFarmWinery.com.

ENHC held its Annual meeting at Rowley Town Hall on Tuesday, October 17. Over 120 guests attended the breakfast meeting to hear updates on ENHC programs, and meet new Commissioners and award recipients. The ENHC is pleased to announce the following individuals were unanimously approved to serve as new commissioners:

Since early 2006, ENHC has been working with representatives from 8 communities and several organizations to coordinate planning activity for the Border to Boston Trail (B2B). Envisioned as a nearly 30-mile multi-use pathway utilizing abandoned railway corridors, the trail will extend from the New Hampshire border in Salisbury south through Newburyport, Newbury, Boxford, Georgetown, Topsfield, Wenham, and into Danvers.

In response to the need to improve and diversify the region’s transportation infrastructure, the regional partnership is promoting creation of an off-road, non- motorized facility that will connect area residents to a large number of diverse destinations, including public spaces, schools, businesses, transportation hubs, and recreational resources. Working with staff from ENHC, National Park Service Rivers and Trails Program, Merrimack Valley Planning Commission, and Metropolitan Area Planning Council, the B2B ad hoc coalition is nearing completion of a 78-page implementation plan.

Intended to present a cogent case for developing the B2B, the plan will establish a common vision for the regional trail, present current information on the project, describe active planning efforts, set out common principles among the eight communities and organizations providing technical assistance, present a preliminary strategy for planning, designing, and constructing the facility, justify further planning and funding, move the project towards a greater state of readiness, and serve as a reference for all involved in the project.

For more information on the B2B Trail, contact Bill Steelman, ENHC Director of Heritage Preservation.

Home of the Wright brothers and long known as the Birthplace of Aviation, the Dayton region now enjoys a new accolade: In November 2004, Congress recognized the Dayton region as the National Aviation Heritage Area, in honor of the region's leadership in our nation's aviation history. The National Aviation Heritage Area (NAHA) joins 26 other heritage areas in existence around the country. Like the Motor City Heritage Area in Detroit, NAHA is one of the few that represents more than a bygone era of heritage; it embodies an industry that is alive and well, but which is chock full of great history and stories that can only be called the "purest slices of Americana."