Volunteer for the Appalachian Trail in Dutchess and Putnam Counties
Over 50 miles of the Appalachian Trail is in Dutchess and Putnam Counties. It is maintained by volunteers of the Dutchess/Putnam Appalachian Trail Management Committee of New York-New Jersey Trail Conference. There are volunteer opportunities for a day or for a longer committment.
A single day of trail work:
- Join a monitor following boundary markers, looking for monuments and encroachments.
- Install blaze posts to help mark the trail.
- Assemble picnic tables for shelters.
- Build water bars by placing logs or rocks diagonally across a sloping trail to control erosion from water.
Longer committment:
- Corridor Monitor - Monitor an assigned portion of National Park Service property on which the AT traverses checking boundary markers and looking for encroachments.
- Well-pump Sampler - Collect monthly samples from the four pumps on the AT in Dutchess County. Deliver samples to the Dutchess County Department of Health in Poughkeepsie.
- Shelter Maintainer - Regularly visit the shelter; keep it clean; replace the log book as needed.
- Helical Piers & Bridge Replacement - Prepare for 2008 helical piers boardwalk near the AT train stop and replace Swamp River bridge.
Other special projects are always being undertaken. Let us know if we can call on you for these outings. For more information about any of the above projects be sure to include contact information and someone will contact you.
To volunteer: contact volunteers@nynjtc.org
