Northern Forest Canoe Trail Auction Raises Nearly $30,000

For Immediate Release
February 17, 2010 

Contact: Kate Williams, Executive Director
Northern Forest Canoe Trail
802-496-2285 or kate@northernforestcanoetrail.org

WAITSFIELD, Vt. – The 5th annual winter online auction for the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) ended recently with a record $29,801 raised for programs along the four-state waterway.

More than 300 people placed 2,600 bids on 496 auction items during the month-long event to help NFCT beat its revenue goal of $25,000. One hundred and twenty businesses, organizations and individuals donated a range of outdoor gear, clothing, vacations, books, boats and paddles to the auction.

"The generosity of our donors led to our largest auction catalog ever, and visitors to the auction site responded by bidding enthusiastically," said NFCT Executive Director Kate Williams.   

Top bidding items included a Lincoln Chebeague Kayak, Wenonah Champlain canoe with the NFCT logo on the front end tank, DeLorme Earthmate PN-40 GPS receiver, NRS River Wing shelter, Malone MicroSport Trailer, a two-day Maine sea kayak adventure, and a northern Vermont dogsledding trip.

All auction proceeds go directly to NFCT’s mission programs, which include trail development and waterway stewardship, sustainable tourism development, recreation and heritage, and a youth paddling program.

The 740-mile Northern Forest Canoe Trail opened to the public in 2006 and follows traditional Native American travel routes over rivers, streams, lakes, ponds and portage trails between Old Forge, N.Y., and Fort Kent, Maine. The non-profit organization that manages the trail is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2010.

To learn more about anniversary events and activities, or paddling the NFCT, visit http://www.northernforestcanoetrail.org call 802-496-2285.

-END-

About the Northern Forest Canoe Trail: The Northern Forest Canoe Trail is a 740-mile inland paddling trail tracing historic travel routes across New York, Vermont, Quebec, New Hampshire, and Maine. NFCT, Inc. is internationally regarded as the preeminent water trail organization in North America, and connects people to the Trail’s natural environment, human heritage, and contemporary communities by stewarding, promoting, and providing access to canoe and kayak experiences along this route.