WELLS — Picture if you will, walking or biking down a scenic path heading toward the waterfront. Natural habitat on either side of the trail, with rare migratory shorebirds popping up from time to time, and at the end the picturesque Wells harbor.

Although the 1.5 mile trail is not yet built – the $650,000 grant the town was awarded for the project from the federal government has not yet been received – the design of the first phase, a 1,200-linear-foot path that will connect to the larger trail and include a overlook of a salt marsh, is ready to go. However, funding for the estimated $66,000 project hasn’t yet been secured.

Jennifer Claster, a landscape architect for Wright Pierce, said the Board of Selectmen gave her design for that smaller portion of the trail with the overlook a warm reception when she presented it to them last month. Wright Pierce, which has multiple offices in New England, including one in Topsham, is the engineering and architectural firm that has been working with the town on the entire project.

The design for the short path to the overlook, which will be built on land managed by Wells Reserve with a conservation easement owned by the state, was paid for with a state coastal program grant for $5,900 and a local match of $1,200, said Town Manager Jon Carter.

The firm had completed a concept plan for the entire project in 2013, said Claster. Since then, however, there have been changes that will have to be taken into account in the final design. She said she anticipates working on that with the town when it is ready to move forward.

The larger project will begin at Route 1 at the Harbor Road intersection, and continue down Harbor Road, ending at Wells Harbor. The $650,000 Eastern Federal Access Program grant has yet to be disbursed from the Fish and Wildlife Service, which according to the grant application, is managing the project. The anticipated delivery date of the fund is 2017, according to the application; the latest possible delivery date would be the following year. In addition to the federal funding, a 20 percent local match, an estimated $150,000, will also be required to finance the project.

Currently, Harbor Road, which is sandwiched between the Rachel Carson Wildlife Reserve, has a gravel shoulder, and that can make walking and cycling difficult, said Claster.

The larger portion of the trail will have an improved surface and vegetation buffers.

The goal, said Carter, is to create an accessible trail “so walkers can walk all the way to the harbor” and enjoy the scenic view.

“The only reason you’d be on this (Harbor) Road is to look at the Rachel Carson (Wildlife) Refuge on both sides,” said Ward Feurt, refuge manager. The refuge is partnering with the town on the project.

“The only destination is the harbor,” he said.

The road, and planned trail, Feurt said, “goes through some good habitat, good wildlife.” There are deciduous woods, salt marsh and scrubland habitat, the later two are important for about eight species of shoreland birds that make their home in the area, he said.

“The walk will be great, he said. “It’s just (in) a physically beautiful place. In addition to the marsh and woodlands, the trail ends in an area where the Merriland River widens and birds populate a large sand bar that’s visible at low tide.

The design, said Feurt, is “nicely laid out. I bet it’s going to be a popular trail.”

— Associate Editor Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com.