January/February 2000

RAILWALKER NTEW YORK-NEW JERSEY TRAIL CONFERENCE...MAINTAINING OVER 1300 MILES OF FOOT TRAILS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2000 Highlands Trail Anonymous MICHAEL WARREN Foundation is New Jersey’s Awards Millennium $10,000 grant Supports training workshops, Trail!! volunteer recognition At an October 21 White House cer- based Rails-to-Trails The NY-NJ Trail Conference is de- lighted to announce receipt of a $10,000 emony, the Highlands Trail was named Conservancy noted, grant, awarded recently by a foundation New Jersey’s Millennium Legacy Trail by “The Highlands Trail which prefers to remain anonymous. The First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. was selected because it grant will fund training workshops—for Stretching from the Delaware to the is an extraordinary trail volunteers’ trail skills, both specialized Hudson River, the Trail, nominated by connecting the northern Governor Christine Whitman, is just 40 part of the state. Also, it and basic, and leadership development— miles from Manhattan and provides New is located in an area seen and recognition activities to honor our Jersey communities organized public ac- as a major priority by volunteer workers. “The Trail Conference deeply appre- cess to a rich wildlife habitat located in open space protection ciates this grant award, which will permit the most densely populated state in the advocates in an increas- us to better honor our volunteers. Since country. Along the Trail, historically-sig- ingly urban part of our we are in the ‘people-business’ as much as nificant sites link it to the American Revo- country.” the trail business, investing in our active lution and the Civil War. The 100-mile “The New York- New Jersey portion of the Trail, which is New Jersey Trail Confer- trail workers literally is an investment re- about 50% complete, connects to a simi- ence is thrilled to have paid to the trails,” commented Conference The Wyanokies, in the heart of the New Jersey Highlands, lar pathway in New York. the Highlands Trail rec- Projects Director Anne Lutkenhouse. typifies the natural features which contributed to the trails In citing the Highlands Trail as a ognized by the White Specialized skills training above and national designation as NJs Millennium Trail. beyond trail building and maintenance Millennium Trail, the Washington, DC- House Millennium skills—such as winch and rigging opera- Council as a nationally-significant recre- tion, crosscut saw operation and mainte- ation resource. We are creating the High- nance (for trail maintainers in wilderness Jan Hesbon named new lands Trail to offer a way for people to areas), and chainsaw safety certification - explore firsthand the natural, historic, and is increasingly important so we can re- Executive Director cultural treasures of this rugged, water- spond to trail maintenance challenges and rich region, and thus gain an apprecia- new trail building opportunities. Such train- tion for its preservation as open space,” ing is also much valued by Conference After a nationwide search and over know that his said Anne Lutkenhouse, Trail Conference members, as it honors the volunteers’ com- 100 applicants, Jan Hesbon—a Conference passionate Projects Director, who prepared the nomi- mitment to providing the best they can to Life Member and an active volunteer with love of our nation application. the regional hiking trail network. our Rockland and Orange Counties’ Ap- trails and inti- The Highlands Trail was born in July continued on page 10 palachian Trail Management Commit- mate under- 1992, when the NY-NJ Trail Conference tee—has been selected as the Trail standing of and the New Jersey Conservation Foun- Conference’s new Executive Director. our volunteers dation/Highlands Coalition, riding on the Whats Inside Jan’s wealth of fundraising experi- will make this release of the USDA Forest Service’s NY- ence, his knowledge of the Trail Confer- organization NJ Highlands Regional Study about the Presidents Notepad ....... 2 ence, its mission, programs and services, grow stronger national significance of the Highlands re- and of the regional issues and agency and as we face the challenges of the future.” gion, applied for technical assistance from Torrey Memorial ........... 3 colleague organization players were key fac- On accepting his new position Jan the National Park Service’s Rivers, Trails Trail News .................. 4 tors in his selection as the Trail Conference’s commented, “Of all my experiences in the and Conservation Assistance Program. chief operating staff member. non-profit world, my work with hundreds This proposal asked for help to begin evalu- Volunteer Recruiting Trail Conference President Gary of volunteers, members, and donors has ating the concept; seek local support and Workshop ................ 5 Haugland summed up the Search been the most rewarding, so I am very research; and plan potential routes along C.L.E.A.N. Lawsuits Committee’s enthusiasm, “I am thrilled that happy to be returning to the work of an envisioned 150-mile-long hiking trail Update ................... 6 Jan will become our next Executive Di- volunteerism through the Trail Confer- connecting the Hudson and Delaware Riv- rector. He will provide the leadership skills ence. The many challenges faced by the ers and traversing the 1.1 million acre For & About and knowledge base to guide the Trail hiking community due to urban sprawl Highlands physiographic province. Our Members ........... 7 Conference in the directions that JoAnn are enormous, and I believe the Trail Con- continued on page 10 Hikers Bookshelf .......... 9 Dolan began during her tenure. And I continued on page 3 from the president’s notepad... TRAIL WALKER Volume XXVII, No. 1 Jan./Feb. 2000 Nora Porter Managing Editor Paul Leikin Advertising Manager From Groundwork to Ground Work The TRAIL WALKER (ISSN 0749-1352) is published bi-monthly by the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference as a benefit of mem- Happy New Year/Decade/Century/ of ground work—one that involves more Global Positioning Systems to map bership. Of membership dues, $4 is allocated to a one-year subscription. Subscriptions are Millennium/whatever. No need to get too than dedicated volunteers building and parklands and trails with extreme accu- available to libraries only at $15.00 a year. caught up in the debates about the mean- maintaining trails. racy and GIS technology to add layers of Periodical postage paid at New York, NY. ing of the date; the fact is a big chunk of As more land is swallowed by sprawl, additional information. More and more Postmaster: Send address changes to the address below. Opinions expressed by authors time is behind us and the future lies before the value of the remaining open space in- of us use internet-based communications do not necessarily represent the policy or po- us. We have been besieged with historical creases proportionately. Since Torrey’s such as e-mail. The Trail Conference sition of the Conference. Contributions of trivia in the last few months. Why we death, the Palisades Interstate Park Com- website reaches an audience far larger than typed manuscripts, photos and drawings are welcome. Manuscripts may be edited for style didn’t poll our members to name the 100 mission has continued to add significant Torrey’s Evening Post. And computers are and length. Send SASE for writers’ guidelines. best trails of the century I’ll never know! new parklands—Minnewaska and Sterling indispensable to the word-processing and Submission deadlines for the TRAIL WALKER But history is the theme of this article— Forest among them—and the Trail Con- desktop publishing tasks that bring you are February 1 (Mar./Apr. Issue), April 1 (May/June issue), June 1 (July/Aug. Issue), history as the groundwork for the future. ference has contributed to protecting these the Trail Walker. You can be certain that August 1 (Sept./Oct. Issue), October 1 (Nov./ On a beautiful day last autumn I had and many other public lands and expand- Torrey also would have taken advantage Dec. Issue), December 1 (Jan./Feb. Issue). Un- the pleasure of attending the dedication of ing their hiking possibilities. Along the of these technological advances. solicited contributions cannot be acknowl- edged unless accompanied by SASE. For in- a new trailside kiosk commemorating way, we have been mobilized to action by So when you see the name Raymond formation on advertising rates, please write Raymond H. Torrey. Torrey, who died in grassroots organizations dedicated to pro- Torrey, think of the groundwork he laid, or call. Copyright 2000 by: 1938, was a key figure in the formative tecting our natural resources. Regional and and the ground work remaining for us. New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, Inc. years of the New York-New Jersey Trail national land conservation organizations There are many new and exciting ways 232 Madison Avenue Conference—one of our Founding Fathers, have lent crucial financial and technical to volunteer your talents to the Trail Con- New York, NY 10016 212-685-9699 so to speak. (If you need a visual aid, he’s support. We’ve learned that by forging ference. We still need people to do the real e-mail: [email protected] the guy in the knickers on our 75th Anni- stronger relationships with such groups we ground work like building and maintain- Worldwide Web: http://www.nynjtc.org/ versary T-shirt design.) can better preserve the region’s hiking ing trails, but increasingly we need more The day also honored another key fig- opportunities. specialized skills. When you receive your ure in the Trail Conference’s history, one And the technology at our disposal revised Volunteer Data Sheets consider NEW YORK - NEW JERSEY who has dedicated much effort to keeping has changed exponentially since Torrey’s carefully how you can best contribute to TRAIL CONFERENCE Raymond Torrey’s memory alive—Meyer time.

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