Trails Council

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Trails Council (next meeting 10/2/2008)

• Schedule a National Trails Day Event before 2/28/2006
• Trails policy This document spells out the purview of the Trails Council. (WordPerfect version) (PDF version)
• Trails Maintenance Manual  It can also be ordered from the office. Free to all maintainers. 
  • Change to Paint Recommendations in Manual 10/3/2002
  • Blazing Rationale 10/23/2006
• Trail Management Guide (old from 2000ish)
• Forms of interest to Trail Conference Officials
• Trail Maintainer Recognition 5/30/2002
• Agendas and Minutes  
• Sign Policy 2/4/2001
• Trail Worker newsletter 6/17/2008

Trail Maintenance Workshop (next scheduled April 5-6, 12-13, April 26, 2008)

Trail Committees

• Regional Committees
• AT Committees
• Trail Crews

Trail Vacancies

NYS DEC Environmental Notices Bulletin

These notices occasionally announce projects that impact trails or the views from trails. Every project which requires SEQR review gets posted here.

Books

• Trails Maintenance Manual  Free to all maintainers.
• A.T. Design, Construction, and Maintenance
  by William Birchard, Jr., Robert D. Proudman, and the Regional Staff of the Appalachian Trail Conference, 2nd edition, March 2000, ISBN 0-917953-72-X.
• A.T. Fieldbook: Maintenance & Rehabilitation Guidelines, A key supplement for volunteers to Appalachian Trail Design, Construction, and Maintenance. It's 96 pages, spiral-bound, and pocket-sized, made for field work.
  
• Lightly on the Land: The SCA Trail-Building and Maintenance Manual, Robert C. Birkby  Peter Lucchetti (Illustrator)  With Jenny Tempest, The Mountaineers, January 2006, ISBN 0-898868-48-3.
• The Complete Guide to Trail Building and Maintenance Carl Demrow and David Salisbury,  3rd Edition, Publisher: Appalachian Mountain Club 1998, ISBN:1-878239-54-6
• Wetland Trail Design and Construction Robert Steinholtz and Brian Vachowski, US Department of Transportation and the US Department of Agriculture - Forest Service, Missoula Technology and development Center, 2001
• Trail Construction and Maintenance Notebook Woody Hesselbarth and Brian Vachowski, US Department of Agriculture - Forest Service, Missoula Technology and development Program, Revised 2004
• Washington Trails Association - Guide to Trail Work Online guide.

Articles

• What to do About Splash Erosion

Other links about trail design, building and maintenance

• Trail Assessment Handbook Available through the Appalachian Trail Conference
• Trail Assessment Handbook (Draft)  Walter Daniels, July, 2002, Available through the NY-NJ Trail Conference
• Pressure Treated Wood usage
• Planning Trails with Wildlife in Mind
• ADA Issues
• American Trails - Wildlife
• American Trails - Trail Design & Construction
• American Trails - Trail Maintenance and Management
• Trails Bibliography
• Trails to Build
• Construction Guidelines (from South Carolina State Trails)
• Trail Design Specialists Mountain bike friendly but fine for hiking as well
• Trail Construction Related CAD Drawings and Specifications
• Wetland Trail Design and Construction
• Sharpening Stihl Chainsaws

Tools and Equipment

Trail maintainers should not have any problems finding bow saws, loppers, and other necessary tools for maintaining their trail at local hardware or gardening stores. However more specialized tools may be harder to find. Here are some resources:

• Forestry Suppliers
• Ben Meadows Company
• Madsen's Online chains and protective gear
• Trail Services - heavy duty equipment like rock drills, Griphoist®, stone working hand tools, chainsaws, etc.
• Chainsaw safety
• Plastic posts for use in wetlands
  • Impact-Posts™
  • Trex