Lives of Consequence
Dan P. Ostrye '73
In November of 2014, The Portland Press Herald named Daniel Ostrye ’73 “one of 10 Mainers to be thankful for,” for his leadership in the construction of Yarmouth’s West Side Trail.
In 2010, when he was the chair of the bike and pedestrian subcommittee in Yarmouth, Maine, Ostrye started the design of the nearly 8-mile-long trail, created primarily for hiking, trail running, mountain biking and snowshoeing. The construction has been built entirely by local volunteers who have donated between 3,000 and 3,500 hours of labor, and is 100 percent funded through private donations and grants.
“I started this project because my son had nowhere to mountain bike, and I promised him I’d find a way to make sure future generations of kids had that opportunity,” says Ostrye, who is currently the chair of the Yarmouth Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee. He adds that he has been fortunate to have the technical and leadership experience to meet the challenges of trail building.
“Building trails is always the easy part,” he says. “It requires large amounts of patience, empathy, and resolve to work through the issues before you can even think of clearing the first section of trail.”
During the past five years of construction, Ostrye has managed legal and permitting work, designed the trail, accommodated anxious abutters, ordered and secured donations of supplies, raised money and recruited volunteers. He and the many volunteers coordinated with local and regional organizations for the technical, logistical and political support to ensure the trail came to fruition, such as the Yarmouth Rotary, New England Mountain Bike Association - Greater Portland Chapter, Healthy Casco Bay Partnership, National Park Service, Royal River Conservation Trust, Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry: Recreational Trails Program, Tyler Technologies Inc., and Central Maine Power Company.
When complete, the West Side Trail will stretch from the Cousins Island power station to Route 1, and eventually into neighboring Cumberland. The trail is built on a Central Maine Power Company power line corridor, crossing more than 20 roads, providing direct access to adjoining neighborhoods and giving users the option of short or long distance loops. The trail ties into the town’s existing network of trails, pathways and sidewalks, providing off-road alternative travel as well as recreation.
Jim Tasse, assistant director of the Bicycle Coalition of Maine and an early partner in the West Side Trail project, praised Ostrye’s efforts. “Dan, with his background in environmental consulting, has approached trail building as an experimental project, with new and innovative approaches to bridge and trail building. He’s a very effective voice and brings a balanced and open-minded ear to the process. He hears all concerns and moves forward in a way that’s constructive and collaborative.”
In June, Ostrye and his team cleared and roughed out the last 1,100 feet of trail and are currently constructing boardwalks and compacting crushed rock and gravel in the wetter portions of that section. He anticipates the team will finish the project by early December 2015.
“Most of the skills I learned in my career have applied to doing the West Side Trail,” says Ostrye, who retired in 2014 from his role as Director of Research and Development for SeptiTech, a wastewater treatment system manufacturer. “I was a ‘political scientist’ -- in that I practiced science in a political environment; I had to present difficult scientific information to the public in a way that they can understand. I probably started learning those skills at Hobart, in multidisciplinary courses that combined science and political science, and my career reinforced that education.”
In 2012, Ostrye was recognized by the Bicycle Coalition of Maine, who named him “Spokesperson of the Year” for his volunteer work promoting mountain biking, road biking and pedestrian access, and his commitment to promoting a healthy lifestyle and building community. In 2013, he was honored with the Town of Yarmouth Latchstring Award in recognition of his leadership on the West Side Trail project.
“The recognition is something you don’t set out to achieve,” Ostrye says. “I look at it as more of a tribute to the community of volunteers and partner organizations who have rolled up their sleeves and stuck with a project that was much larger than any of us ever imagined. It’s not just building a trail but building community.”
Looking forward, Ostrye has two short-term goals and one longer-term. He hopes to finish the work on the trails and signage and have a sustainable trail network in the town. He is also planning to build and install 18 benches on the trail, with grant funding from the Yarmouth Rotary Club and the National Park Service.
Then comes the next phase of extending the trail an additional four miles, which is where politics, permitting, and public relations come in, he says. “It is not something you can rush, so it will give me time to catch my breath and recharge my batteries and try to recruit new leaders to take on Phase 2.”
Currently, Ostrye resides in Maine with his wife, Hannah Ostrye ’75, who says, “We both believe in giving back to the community and this is one of the ways that Dan does that. The community building that has come out of the trail project is really special.”
Ostrye says he enjoys a walk on the West Side Trail, but he admits that of the time he spends out there, “about 10 percent I’m actively using the trail and 90 percent I’m working on it. That’s the fun part for me.”
For more information and to follow his work, you can access their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/YarmouthTrails.