The Trail Conference salutes the 1,453 volunteers who donated 28,043 hours towards
trail building and maintenance throughout New York and New Jersey.
Trail and Field Programs
- Volunteers re-opened three trails - including a formerly-closed section of the Long Path
- in Sam's Point Preserve, a 4,623 acre land of dwarf pitch pine and blueberry, and Trail
Conference donated $10,000 towards start-up management costs after The Nature Conservancy
acquired the land. The Trail Conference testified before the New Jersey Assembly
Appropriations Committee in support of legislation that would extend workers' compensation
and liability defense to volunteers working on state park lands. Gov. Whitman signed the
bill into law in August 1997.
- In Ringwood State Park, where some trails were re-designated for multi-use, the Trail
Conference paid to develop and publish a Ringwood Trails Use brochure, to help the public
understand the new marking system and encourage compliance. In two SWAT team outings,
volunteers installed signposts identifying the trail uses permitted on much of the park's
45 miles of trails. To assist park staff with monitoring the hiking trails for illegal
users, the Conference also bought 2 radios, donating them to the park.
- The dramatically-situated, new, 2+ mile-long Undercliff Trail on Breakneck's shoulder
completed and opened to the public on National Trails Day.
- In a pioneering action, the Trail Conference partnered with the Adirondack Mountain Club
to jointly lobby and advocate in Albany to secure the financial resources, budget and
staffing necessary for the proper management and stewardship of the Catskill Forest
Preserve and New York State parks.
- The Trail Conference spearheaded formation of "Pride in Our Parks", a
partnership of more than 50 New Jersey organizations with a combined constituency of over
one million Jerseyans, to sound the alarm about the deterioration of the parks, and to
press for increased budgets for operating staff and maintenance and capital improvements.
- Trail Conference signed an agreement with the National Park Service / Delaware Water Gap
National Recreation Area to perform hiking trail maintenance on the Area's New Jersey
lands.
- Another 81 maintainer service patches awarded, bringing total nudging towards 1,000
already awarded. 5-year service rockers, which salute a minimum of 5 years of continuous
trail care service, awarded for 1st time; 116 volunteers received this award.
- $10,000 grant from Anonymous foundation established a trail tool endowment.
New hiking trails were born in the West Hudson Highlands, in cooperation with land
trusts and parks, including:
At the request of the Open Space Institute, which acquired 2,100+ acres on the
Mountain, Conference volunteers began constructing 2 new hiking trails, the North Trestle,
and Dark Hollow, trails, providing new foot-travel accesses to the mountain.
- Minnewaska State Park Preserve
Volunteers constructed 2 new hiking trails - Mossy Glen and Low Peterskill - permitting
hiker access to interior trails on foot-only-accesses.
At the request of Scenic Hudson Land Trust, Conference volunteers scouted, mapped and
proposed a foot trail loop linking Sterling Forest to Harriman State Park and the
Appalachian Trail, and the Conference donated $10,000 towards the land's management.
Stokes State Forest maintainers have a "blow-down party", clearing 37
blowdowns from 8 of the forest's trails. New Jersey Trail Crew commended by Morristown
National Historical Park with Distinguished Service Award for their volunteer service to
the Passaic River pedestrian bridge within the Park's trail system.
- Highlands Trail and Farny Highlands Trail System
Volunteers scouted and built Split Rock Loop (7.8 mi.) and Beaver Brook (5.5 mi.)
trails, and built another five and a quarter miles of new Highlands Trail built in
vicinity of Allamuchy State Park.
Conference volunteers built 2-mile Pecoy Notch, and 2.5-mile Mink Hollow, trails to
create loop system over Sugarloaf Mountain in the Indian Head Wilderness Area. Volunteers
replaced Echo Lake lean-to roof and floor boards, and built new privy.
Land Protection and Conservation
- Initiators of the 13-year-long Sterling Forest preservation drive, the Trail Conference
worked with the Palisades Interstate Park Commission on management concerns in preparation
for the February 1998 transfer of 12,500 acres to public ownership as New York's newest
state park. The Conference donated $20,000 towards operations and land management needs.
- Trail Conference bridged the $10,714 purchase price for 4 acres of land in Schoharie
County, NY, for the Long Path North, until New York State could complete transaction.
Education and Volunteer Training
- Published a Spanish brochure guide to the Appalachian National Scenic Trail in
Harriman-Bear Mountain State Park.
- Produced an Appalachian Trail Treasure Map, a natural resource scavenger- hunt brochure
keyed into common sights along foot trails, to introduce children to hiking and
‘seeing' what they see.
- Conference's Dutchess/Putnam Counties Appalachian Trail Management Committee began
producing a video on low-impact hiking and backpacking skills targeted for youth group
leaders.
- The Trail Conference continued sponsorship of skills training courses: trail maintenance
workshops in the Catskills and in western New Jersey trained 64 more volunteers; a
cross-cut saw safety course certified 15 volunteer maintainers in safe operation; a
chainsaw safety course certified another 15 volunteers in safe operations.
- The case study of our AT Pochuck Creek pedestrian bridge project became a new U.S.
Forest Service publication, ‘Design and Construction of the Pochuck Quagmire
Suspension Timber Bridge on the AT'.
Publications
- Through words and pen-and-ink sketches, a new Conference guidebook, Scenes and Walks in
the Northern Shawangunks, by Jack Fagan, introduces foot travelers to the unique ecosystem
and its trails of this "Last Great Place".
- Revised publications included the Kittatinny, East Hudson and Shawangunks map sets.
Membership
- We welcomed four new organizations to the federation: Appalachian Mountain Club/Delaware
Valley chapter, James McFaul Environmental Center of the Bergen County (NJ) Department of
Parks, Morris County (NJ) Park Commission, Sierra Club/Lower Hudson Group.
- New Life Members surged by 84, bringing our total in this category to 677.
Cooperative Partners
Adirondak Mountain Club
Appalachian Trail Conference
Black Rock Forest Consortium
Friars of the Atonement
Morris Parks and Land Conservancy
National Park Service
Newark Watershed Conservation and Development Corporation
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Division of Parks & Forestry
Division of Fish, Game & Wildlife
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Open Space Institute
Palisades Interstate Park Commission
Sterling Forest Partnership
A Special Thank You
As always, projects are made possible by your generous contributions to the New York -
New Jersey Trail Conference. We extend our heartfelt appreciation to all our members and
friends. Also, we give special thanks to:
an Anonymous Foundation
Appalachian Trail Conference
The Marie Baier Foundation
Eastern Mountain Sports
Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation/Morris Parks and Land Conservancy
Robert Newton
and for Matching Gifts
American Express
American Ref-fuel Company
Automatic Data Processing, Inc.
Avon Products Foundation
Banker's Trust Foundation
Berkshire Hathaway, Incorporated
Chase Manhattan Foundation
The Chubb Corporation
Citicorp Foundation
CNA Insurance Companies Foundation
The Equitable Foundation
IBM International Foundation
The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation
The Harvey Guggenheim Foundation
McGraw-Hill Companies Foundation, Inc.
Merrill Lynch & Company Foundation, Inc.
J.P. Morgan & Co., Inc.
Mutual of America
The New York Times Company Foundation
Pfizer, Incorporated
Readers' Digest Foundation
Times Mirror Foundation
Transamerica Foundation
United Way of New York City
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