July/August 2009
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Meet the Morris Trails Worms in the Woods Partnership In the Northeast, worms They build high-quality foot - are going where no worm paths and multiuse trails close has gone before . to home. READ MORE ON PAGE 3 READ MORE ON PAGE 5 July/August 2009 New York-New Jersey Trail Conference — Maintaining 1,716 Miles of Foot Trails www.nynjtc.org Thank a Trail Work in the Big Apple Trail Conference The Bronx and Bear Mountain. Queens and the Ramapo Chain Sawyer Mountains. Staten Island and the Shawangunks. Many of hikers’ favorite trails would still be closed this summer hat do all these haVe in com - if not for the extraordinary mon? TheY are places Where efforts of the Trail Conference’s WTrail Conference Volunteers volunteer chain sawyers. In just maintain trails. a few months they cleared The Metro Trails Committee, Which has responsibilitY for oVer 60 miles of trails in hundreds of trees and limbs fiVe citY parks in NeW York CitY, is, perhaps, brought down by ice this past the most unlikelY of the Trail Conference’s winter from trails throughout 16 regional trail committees. Who Would our region: in Harriman-Bear think there are hiking trails to maintain in a Mountain, Minnewaska, region better knoWn for its cement? Schunemunk, Sterling Forest, Yet on MaY 16, Trail Conference Volun - and Storm King State Parks; teers Were out on those trails taking part in along the Appalachian Trail in the CitY Parks Department’s annual cele - Putnam, Dutchess, and Orange bration, “It’s MY Park DaY.” N Counties in New York and on the “It is alWaYs great to see members of the O S U local communitY, especiallY Youth, getting G Bearfort Ridge in New Jersey; R E inVolVed in improVing our hiking trails,” F E and in parks in the Hudson I T S said Joe Gindoff, Who helped to introduce I Highlands East of Hudson. These R H volunteers were too busy to take eight teenagers from Flushing High School C to trail Work at AlleY Pond Park in Queens Metro crew leaders Joe Gindoff (left) and Erwin S. Schaub lead students from Flushing pictures of themselves at work, High School on a trail work outing at Alley Pond Park in Queens. but join us in thanking: that daY. As Warblers sang oVerhead, the teens built fiVe neW Waterbars , filled a As eVidenced bY just these tWo outings, doZen eXisting trail steps With mineral soil, trails and parks in NeW York CitY encom - Tom Amisson and installed tWo posts to serVe as trailhead pass a Wide VarietY of terrain tYpes. “ManY Highlands Trail Steve Banyacski markers. A rock With mYsterious carVings, of the citY parks border coastal Waters Robert Betanzos discoVered on a trail creW trip last Year, Was Where You can find salt marsh and fresh Crosses the Roland Breault moVed back to its original resting place, but Water ponds, AlleY Pond Park has kettle Rose Diamond not before a large tree fell, sending an oWl ponds, and the Staten Island Greenbelt has Delaware Jack Driller flYing oVer the startled group. a hillY terrain With beautiful Vistas,” boasts Chris Connolly The students learned about trail blaZes, the committee’s brochure. “The trails in David Dvorsky erosion control methods, hoW to moVe these areas haVe high usage due to the easY Mike Garrison rocks and use trail tools, and hoW to identi - access and high population densitY. This Jim Gebhard fY and staY aWaY from poison iVY. Their heaVY use demands continual upkeep bY Susan Gordon adViser, Jared Widjeskog, later said that theY our maintainers and bY our trail creW (but Peter Hoh reallY enjoYed the eXperience, and “some also makes for easY access for Volunteers!)” Joan James students haVe alreadY asked if We can sched - Not manY cities can offer trail Work Mark Liss ule another daY to help out in the park!” opportunities Within their boundaries. Bob Marshall MeanWhile, at Pelham BaY Park in the EVen if You are a citY resident Who likes to BronX, Trail Conference Volunteers joined escape to the countrY to do Your hiking, John McCullough the Parks Department Natural Areas Man - think about staYing in toWn from time to George Muller ager John GraYleY to restore a small time to do a little communitY serVice in the Chris Reyling meadoW that proVides loVelY VieWs south of great outdoors. Check out the opportuni - Brenda Holzinger and Glenn Oleksak from the Cal Rizzuto Orchard Beach. Led bY Peter Quinones, ties and contacts beloW or be in touch With Ollie Simpson Trail Conference and Suzanne Wilder, president the enthusiastic group of Volunteers Was East Hudson Regional RepresentatiVe of the Musconetcong Mountain Conservancy, John Skinner cheered When EliZabeth Alston identified Christie Ferguson, [email protected], on the Highlands Trail in Pennsylvania. Pete Tilgner praYing mantis eggs. Who Will get You connected. Steve Zubarik Almost 100 Highlands Trail supporters Metro Trail Committee, Who’s Who gathered at the DelaWare RiVer on SaturdaY, Trail Conference chain sawyers Metro Co-Trail Chairs: Joe Gindoff, MaY 16, to celebrate the Highlands Trail are trained and certified to [email protected] and LiZbeth GonZaleZ, crossing from Pohatcong ToWnship, NJ, to US Forest Service standards in [email protected] RiegelsVille, PA. The trail crosses the exchange for a commitment to Metro Trail CreW Chief: Linda SulliVan, DelaWare RiVer Via the RiegelsVille Toll-Sup - help keep trails in our region [email protected] ported Bridge. The daY started on the NeW clear. If you are interested in JerseY side With a Welcome from Brenda N O Alley Pond Park, Queens HolZinger, the former NeW JerseY Regional becoming a trained volunteer S U G Trails: ApproXimatelY 3 miles maintained RepresentatiVe for the Trail Conference. R chain sawyer, register your E F E bY Trail Conference; 657 acres FolloWing this Welcome, GarY Haugland, I interest by using the Volunteer T S I Volunteer Needs: Trail superVisor, maintainers the TC Highlands Trail Chair, and JoAnn R Interest Form (under Volunteer) H C Supervisor: Joe Gindoff With assist from Dolan, former TC EXecutiVe Director, on our website. Students from a Queens high school ErWin Schaub spoke about the challenges and reWards of show their strength in rock moving. building the Highlands Trail, and thanked Pelham Bay Park, Bronx all the Volunteers inVolVed in the trail VOLUME XXXVI, N UMBER 4 ISSN 0749-1352 Non-Profit Trails: 10 miles, including Hunter Island building effort oVer the past 15 Years. US Postage Paid Trail and the Bridle Path; 2766 acres, The Appalachian Mountain Club plans Permit No. 1239 Bellmawr, N.J. including 13 miles of shoreline; NYC’s to continue the trail in the Highlands of biggest park PennsYlVania. Volunteer Needs: trail maintainers, includ - See page 3 for neWs of the HT east of the ing equestrians and paddlers Hudson RiVer. Find links to HT info at Supervisor: LiZbeth GonZaleZ WWW.nYnjtc.org; click on Trails OVerVieW under Go Hiking, then on Highlands Trail continued on page 4 under Long Distance Trails. Page 2 July/August 2009 From the Executive Director mountain bike, and 17% Who report trail running, With manY “multisport” participants. The fastest groWing trail Mapping a better route uses oVer the past decade are trail running and snoWshoeing, VOLUME XXXVI, NO.4 JULY /A UGUST 2009 to the same destination Whereas backpacking has declined the most. GEORGETTE WEIR EDITOR LOUIS LEONARDIS GRAPHIC DESIGNER Last Winter, the board of directors, With assis - Specific to the Trail Conference, the folloWing obserVations Were The TRAIL WALKER (USPS Permit #1239) tance from tWo familY foundations, initiated a deemed strategicallY important: (ISSN 0749-1352) is published bi-monthlY bY the NeW York-NeW JerseY Trail Conference as a strategic planning process. The objectiVe Was to • The Trail Conference’s distinctiVe competence is Volunteer benefit of membership. Subscriptions are create a neW organiZational frameWork that management and trail deVelopment and promotion. aVailable to libraries onlY at $15.00 a Year. takes into account our unique strengths and contemporarY condi - • There is an opportunitY for the Trail Conference and land Periodical postage paid at MahWah, N.J., and tions to build a more efficient and sustainable organiZation. managing partners to create the nation’s best trail sYstem additional offices. Postmaster: Send address An eXternal facilitator is a critical ingredient in organiZational serVing a major metropolitan area. changes to the address beloW. Opinions eXpressed bY authors do not necessarilY represent the policY deVelopment, and We hired the best We could find — Conservation • Hikers and other non-motoriZed trail users (including or position of the Conference. Contributions of Impact based in Boulder, Colorado. The principal of this firm, mountain bikers, trail runners and equestrians) haVe far tYped manuscripts, photos, and draWings are Shelli-Bischoff Turner, has done similar Work for about 450 more mutual interests than differences and should be Welcome. Manuscripts maY be edited for stYle conserVation-oriented entities, including some local organiZations, Working more closelY together to achieVe mutual goals. and length. Send SASE for Writers’ guidelines. such as Scenic Hudson, Mohonk PreserVe, The Land Trust of NeW • The Trail Conference’s 100+ member organiZations Submission deadlines for the TRAIL WALKER are JanuarY 15 (Mar./Apr. issue), March 15 JerseY and Orange CountY Land Trust. represent a large and important constituencY, but the (MaY/June issue), MaY 15 (JulY/Aug. issue), A Wide VarietY of stakeholders Were consulted during the process, lines of communication need to be improVed JulY 15 (Sept./Oct. issue), September 15 including 99 interVieWs With agencY partners, member clubs, (NoV./Dec. issue), NoVember 15 (Jan./Feb. Volunteers, donors, board and staff. An additional 26 delegates and Based on the stakeholder input and planning process, the Board issue).