Minutes 4/1/2004

Trails Council
Minutes of Meeting, April 1, 2004

1. The meeting was called to order by Trails Council Chair Gary Haugland at 6:40 PM. Present were: Pete Heckler, Peter Tilgner, David Day, Monica Resor, John Blenninger, Bob Jonas, Jane and Walt Daniels, John Mack, John Moran, Sandy Parr, Jakob Franke, Ellen Cronan, Jim Canfield, Bob Newton, Ike Siskind, Suzan Gordon, Gary Haugland, Phyllis Stewart, Bob Ward, John Grob, and Larry Wheelock .

2. Minutes The minutes of the February 5 th meeting were approved as submitted.

3. Announcements. The following announcements were made:

a. Hasenclever Iron Mine Trail John Mack gave an update on progress of this new trail, which is coming to fruition. Ringwood Borough passed a resolution approving the crossing of their property. There is some issue with the property the trail crosses which has power lines. Trenton has confirmed to Ringwood Park that the Park owns it, but the Park people have not seen the paperwork. Rebecca Fitzgerald is attempting to clarify this with PSE&G. The other 5 properties are within the jurisdiction of either Ringwood State Park or PIPC NJ and both approve the trail.

Ed McGowan is scheduled to perform and environmental review on April 7 th – John Mack will accompany him. They will be guided by the Natural Lands Management Heritage Data received from the State, which relates to rare wildlife or wildlife habitat, and occurrences of rare plant species or natural communities.

It has been determined that there are no dangerous mine pits in proximity to the trail. Trail termini, blazes and signage will be decided by Ringwood Park and Friends of Long Pond Ironworks. The trail will not traverse any of the areas that local residents are still claiming to be polluted, although the EPA has claimed it is clear. The trail is fully flagged and John Moran has wheeled it and measured it to be 5 miles. John has scheduled a work crew for April 18 th. The Borough is sponsoring a trail walk on April 24 th, led by Gene Giordano. FOLPI may also be involved.

b. New Bridges John Moran announced that 2 new bridges had been constructed as a result of Eagle Scout projects and supervised by Gene Giordano. The first, constructed by a Ringwood troop, is located at Fox Brook, north of Camp Glen Gray on the Schuber and Old Guard trails. A ranger from Glen Gray volunteered to help them in transporting building materials. The second bridge, constructed by a Wayne troop, is located where the Havemeyer trail meets the Halifax trail. John Moran reported that in the course of transporting building materials, the crew met a local landowner that volunteered his equipment to help them.

c. Cooperative Project Sandy Parr reported that the NJ Trail Crew and he have been working with the Morris County Parks Commission to create a trail over the slope of Pyramid Mountain . It is all flagged and awaiting the approval of Morris County .

d. National Trails Day Bob Ward reported that the Metro Trails committee is planning to connect existing trails to a new Visitors Center and will coincide this happening with National Trails Day.

Pete Heckler suggested that we announce the official opening of the Sapphire Trail on this day too.

Bob Jonas reported that there will be 2 hikes planned to leave the Weis Ecology Center in Norvin Green State Forest on June 5 th.

Gary Haugland reported that in Cornwall there will be an information booth at a local Riverfest on Saturday and a hike on the Highlands Trail on Sunday. Gary also reported that Storm King trails will be closed from August to December so that the Corps of Engineers may continue locating unexploded ordnance.

Ike Siskind reported that he saw what he thought to be a mountain lion while driving through Saddle River at night. He notified the local police department.

4. Old Business.

 a. Reflective Markers Pete Heckler reported that the newly installed reflective markers were a help in a recent night time rescue. Sterling Forest has asked for help in making reflective markers for their trails. Discussion followed as to how this might be accomplished. Harriman Park has also expressed an interest in using these markers.

b. Multi-use Trails Gary Haugland reported that the TC would be willing to work with other groups to maintain trails. The By-laws state that you must either own land or maintain hiking trails to become a member. They can join as members if they fit these qualifications or can be trail partners at a higher fee.

c. Trail Maintenance Manual Gary Haugland reported that he hopes to have a new manual by our next meeting. Discussion followed as to size of the manual and updating to include topics such as tools, trail protection strategies, safety issues, safe trail design, procedures in case of accident or injury, blazing, and types of blazes.

d. Sterling Forest Design Team Pete Tilgner reported that the SF Design team will meet on April 29 to finalize their proposals for presentation to the SF Master Plan trail assessment.

e. Trail Road Crossing Survey Lanny Wexler thanked all who worked on the survey to locate trails that crossed roads and parking areas. He said the results would be put into a database and possibly used in the future to obtain funding from government agencies.

5. New Business

a. Extension of Trestle Trail A motion was made and passed to extend the Trestle Trail to the Otterkill Parking lot. This is a section of the road and trails that does not show on map number 8. The road will be blazed to lead to the trailhead.

b. Bare Rock Trail Pete Tilgner reported that the Bare Rock trail is still just a concept and planned to begin at Sterling Lake, go to West Valley Road, and possibly involve relocation of a portion of the Tower Trail. The TC has been asked to adopt it when it is completed and we have agreed to do so.

c. New Trail Request Walt Daniels reported that the Phillipstown Planning Board had asked the TC to build and maintain a trail on an easement alongside a stream. Some new homes are going to built in the area. This is near Surprise Lake and Bull Hill. At present there is no parking area to access the proposed trail. Discussion followed and the Trails Committee said they would be interested when more information is provided relative to access for the public.

d. American Flags in Wilderness Areas Walt Daniels asked what can be done to eliminate the remaining torn and worn American flags erected in the forests after the terrorist attack on Sept.11. Some of them are in pitiful shape. The committee advised caution in their removal and disposal, so this would not appear as an unpatriotic act.

6. The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 PM. Next meeting is scheduled for June 3 rd.

Submitted by Phyllis Stewart.

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