Portland Trails has received a public access easement to place trails on 22 acres next to the Fore River Sanctuary.

The Energy East Foundation Inc. granted the easement on its property at 204 Rand Road, the land trust announced today. The land is on a tributary to the Stroudwater River. It includes salt marsh and mixed forest and is home to waterfowl and shorebirds such as black ducks and great blue herons, birds of prey such as the red-tailed hawk and a variety of mammals from mice to deer.

The 85-acre Fore River Sanctuary is the city's largest wildlife sanctuary and a popular walking and birding destination. Portland Trails plans to eventually extend the Fore River Sanctuary trail network onto the property to create a primitive trail loop through some Portland's last remaining undeveloped forest.