Trails Progress Report: 2015 Look Back // 2016 Look Ahead

Trail Conference volunteers and staff are working to bring hikers and walkers the best trails possible in New York and New Jersey and to protect and preserve the surrounding lands.

• • • Caring for over 2,150 miles of trails in 22 counties and counting!
    • Managing 1,800* volunteers and growing!
    • Generating 100,000 hours (valued at $2,636,000) of donated volunteer time and increasing! 

Wherever and whenever you're in the area, you can find miles of trails and thousands of acres to enjoy.

See some of what our staff and volunteers accomplished this year:

 New Jersey Region

2016 Look Back
New Jersey’s region adopted 25 new miles of trail in Morristown National Historical Park, partnering with the National Park Service to improve and maintain this popular trail network. The college-age Ramapo Earth Crew continued to grow, contributing over 1,000 hours this year to projects from the Delaware Water Gap to the Palisades. A dedicated AmeriCorps Highlands Trail Crew tackled trail improvement and restoration projects across the entire 125+ miles of trail in New Jersey. They also collected GPS inventory and assessment data to prioritize future conservation and improvement efforts. Ramapo Reservation, with one of the state’s most heavily-used trail networks, received an initial overhaul to its main trail network. This first phase was part of a multi-year program to rebuild the trail system to more modern, sustainable standards. The new series of blazed loops, including a newly-constructed connector trail, is already extremely popular with hikers and casual walkers alike. And deep inside Wawayanda State Park, the volunteer-powered West Jersey Trail Crew completed a labor-intensive reconstruction of the Cedar Swamp boardwalk. This series of bog bridges takes hikers through beautiful wetlands and tunnels of enormous rhododendron. The Trail Conference now maintains 682 miles of trails throughout New Jersey!

2017 Look Ahead

• Improve trailhead maps and signage to facilitate safe, enjoyable hiking for users of all experience levels.
• Enhance and promote under-used trail networks to more evenly distribute the increasing number of trail users. 

 East Hudson Region

2016 Look Back
We're working in Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, and Columbia counties and parts of NYC to maintain, build, protect and improve trails and open space. In 2016, the Taconic Conservation Crew fielded over 100 volunteers and 1,000 volunteer hours on Wilkinson Memorial Trail and Undercliff Trail near Breakneck Ridge. Breakneck Ridge Trail Stewards welcomed and assisted around 1,000 hikers per weekend day, from Memorial Day weekend through November. Fahnestock Volunteer Crew built the mile-long Hubbard Loop Trail in the State Park. Two new volunteer crews were established: the East Hudson Trail Crew and the Hudson Highlands Trail Crew. The Trail Conference launched a youth initiative in Westchester, introducing 71 high school seniors to trail maintenance. We adopted over 15 miles of additional trails this year.  The Trail Conference now maintains 494 miles of trails in East Hudson!

2017 Look Ahead

• Continue to develop a robust volunteer leadership model in the Metro Area and expand outreach to improve the trails within the 5 boroughs and recruit volunteers to other regions.
• Expand volunteer outreach in NYC to improve trails throughout the greater metropolitan area.
• Continue to identify trail maintenance and trail building priorities in Westchester, Dutchess and Putnam Counties and assign the best recourses available to each project.  

 West Hudson Region

2016 Look Back

 

From Harriman-Bear Mountain and Sterling Forest to the Shawangunks and Palisades, the Trail Conference made a tremendous impact. After a major fire at Sam’s Point and Minnewaska, volunteers helped the park by restoring and protecting burned trail areas. Created 4 miles of new trails In Shawangunk Ridge State Forest, connecting the Long Path to parking areas. On the Appalachian Trail and Long Path, completed restorations and reroutes in Harriman, Sterling Forest and Tallman State Parks. Preserved 8 acres in Sullivan County to soon move a mile of the Long Path off roads. In Sterling Forest, collaborated to build over 3 miles of new trail for the hikers, runners, mountain bikers and equestrians. Launched Bear Mountain Stewards program at the A.T., Suffern-Bear Mountain and Major Welch trails, assisting novice hikers and introducing a diverse public to the Trail Conference.

The Trail Conference maintains 620 miles of trails in West Hudson! 

2017 Look Ahead

• Preserve more new land parcels for the Highlands Trail and Long Path. Complete Highlands Trail reroute in Chester, removing a mile of road walk.

• Continue expanding our impact, presence and volunteer recruitment wherever we maintain trails.

Catskill Mountains Region

2016 Look Back
Built and opened the first section of the new Nature Trail at the Catskill Interpretive Center, which leads visitors to a picnic area and scenic view. Thanks to a generous grant from REI, work from the Trail Conference and the DEC constructed two brand new leantos: German Hollow and the Batavia Kill.  Trail Conference volunteers also carried materials up to the 3,810’ summit of Sugarloaf Mountain, constructing 80% of new bog bridging, to improve the trail experience atop the high peaks of the Devil’s Path. Volunteers also carried materials five miles over Slide Mountain (4,180’) to replace and install over 160 feet of bog bridging on Cornell Mountain.  Echo Lake Leanto was rehabilitated with a new roof, fresh coat of stain and a new privy. Seven additional leantos were stained, protecting them for years to come. The Trail Conference now maintains 351 miles of trails in the Catskills. 

2017 Look Ahead

 Invasive Species Programs

2016 Look Back
Expanded our efforts to preserve biodiversity in natural areas, removing more than 65,000 invasive plants in 58 parks, preserves, and partner properties. Engaged over 150 new volunteers to survey for invasive species in natural areas region-wide. Led the Lower Hudson Partnership for Invasive Species Management (PRISM) in developing public outreach and education invasive species identification and management. Helped prioritize invasive species efforts in New York’s Hudson Valley region.

 

2017 Look Ahead

• Ramp up invasive species removal efforts by increasing summer crew service periods, engaging more volunteers and streamlining data collection and processing.

• Lead the 44 partner organizations of the Lower Hudson PRISM to aggressively target priority areas and species while expanding public education and outreach.

Cartography and Publications

2016 Look Back
New editions of five maps sets were produced in print and digital format: Harriman-Bear Mountain, Jersey Highlands, Kittatinny, Shawangunk, and Sterling Forest.  The revisions included significant improvements ranging from adding trail mileage numbers on some maps to providing more detailed contour lines on others. Surpassed 100,000 map downloads through the Avenza Maps app and continued to expand promotion efforts through trailhead kiosk signage.

 

2017 Look Ahead

• Revised editions of two map sets will be produced: North Jersey and East Hudson.
• New revised editions of two books will be produced: Circuit Hikes in Harriman and Harriman Trails.
• Maps covering some popular Westchester County parks, and maps covering the Long Path,  will be top priorities for new maps in 2017.

Bear Mountain

2016 Look Back

Completed 357 feet  of new trail on the Upper East face of the A.T. Fielded 225 volunteers that spent over 2,600 hours and held 8 Trail U courses at  Bear Mountain. 61 massive stone stairs were laid, and 563.3 square feet of crib wall installed. 160 linear feet of corridor trimmed, with 371 square feet of revegetation taking place. 

 

 

2017 Look Ahead

• Increase crew size
• Complete the Upper East Face section of the A.T. by the end of 2017 season

Conservation Corps

2016 Look Back
Corps members completed 14,862 hours, held 465 work trips and hosted 22 Trail University courses and fielded 600+ volunteers, 80 were recurring. Inventoried 120+ miles of trail, collecting 1,400+ data points. Over 18,000 linear feet of trail improved or built including a multi-use trail in Sterling Forest State Park. Cleared 19 fallen trees, cleared 3,000+ linear feet of corridor, dug 2,590+ linear feet of side hill, made 50+ separate drainage improvements and hung/painted 60+ blazes. Built over 100 stone stairs by hand using stones weighing over 800 pounds, 605 square feet of new crib wall built and 59 stepping stones placed. 70+ acres of land improved by the Invasive Species Crew, closing and re-vegetated 941+ sq. feet of trail. Developed and launched a highly successful volunteer recruitment program called “Trail Love” resulting in a drastic expansion in volunteer outreach and participation.

 

2017 Look Ahead

• Continue to develop, refine and expand “Trail Love”.
• 100% Corps expansion, growing from 4 crews to 8 with an area spanning from Delaware Water Gap to the Catskills.
• Develop a communications plan to increase visibility and recruitment.

Website Upgrade

2016 Look Back 
Launched a completely overhauled website in November with significant improvements.  More attractive graphics, a mobile-friendly interface, and interactive maps for finding hikes/parks and volunteer opportunities are among the many enhancements now available. Along with a new public-facing website, a new constituent relationship management system (CRM) was developed and implemented.  This system is integrated with the new website and replaces an antiquated database system of member, volunteer, and trail information.

• Continue enhancements to the new website on both the front and back ends.
• Research and potentially pursue a standalone Trail Conference app to expand upon the work done for the new website.

Make sure to mark your calendars and give to your favorite region starting November 22