Minutes 10/6/2005

MINUTES OF A MEETING
of the
TRAILS COUNCIL
of the
NEW YORK-NEW JERSEY TRAIL CONFERENCE
October 6, 2005

1. Trails Council Chair Pete Heckler called the meeting to order at 6:28 p.m. at the Trail Conference office in Mahwah, N.J. Present were: Pete Heckler - Chair, Larry Wheelock - Trails Director, Ed Goodell - Executive Director, Dennis Schvejda - Advocacy Director, Estelle Anderson, Jill Arbuckle, John Blenninger, Larry Braun, Jim Canfield, Daniel D. Chazin, Chris Connolly, Jane Daniels, Walt Daniels, David Day, Monica Day, Bill Fisher, Jakob Franke, Joe Gindoff, Suzan Gordon, Gary Haugland, Bob Jonas, Peter Kohlberger, Mark Liss, Ron Luna, John Mack, John Moran, Gail Neffinger, Sandy Parr, Ike Siskind, June Slade, Peter Tilgner, Dan Van Engel, Denise Vitale, Ed Walsh, Sr. and Bob Ward.

2. Minutes. The minutes of the Trails Council meeting of August 4, 2005 were approved as submitted.

3. New Advocacy Director. Ed Goodell introduced Dennis Schvejda, a long-time Trail Conference member who formerly worked for the New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club and is now the Trail Conference’s Advocacy Director. Dennis Schvejda encouraged all members of the Trails Council to contact him regarding advocacy issues.

4. Pack for Chain Saw. Larry Wheelock showed the Trails Council a flyer promoting a new pack that has been designed to carry a chain saw.

5. Bear Mountain Rehabilitation Project. Gail Neffinger announced that the Orange-Rockland A.T. Management Committee has decided to form a new committee to supervise the Bear Mountain Rehabilitation Project. He stated that the first meeting of the new committee will be held at the Trail Conference office on Tuesday, November 1 st , and stated that anyone interested in this project was welcome to attend. He also noted that, later in November, Peter Jensen will be at Bear Mountain for two days to develop plans for the trails to be constructed on Bear Mountain. Larry Wheelock announced that there will be two special workshops on trail construction, to be held at Bear Mountain on the weekend of November 19-20.

6. New Appointments. Pete Heckler announced that Mark Liss is replacing Don Morgan as Supervisor for the southeast part of Harriman, and that Dan Van Engel has been nominated for the Trail Conference Board and is expected to be voted in at the Annual Meeting.

7. Ramapo ‘07 ATC Conference. Jane Daniels announced that she is the chair of Ramapo ‘07, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s biennial conference, to be hosted by the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference. She noted that the event is proposed to be held at Ramapo College on July 13-20, 2007, but that the date has not been finalized at this point. She also pointed out that we need volunteers to serve as Treasurer of this Conference and to coordinate workshops. She noted that several members of the Trails Council are already involved with this Conference, and she distributed flyers promoting the conference.

8. Powderhorn Course. Daniel Chazin noted that he has been requested to find a volunteer who could make a presentation about the Trail Conference and trail maintenance to a group of Boy Scout leaders taking a Powderhorn training course. He pointed out that this course would be held at Kittatinny Mountain Scout Reservation in Stokes State Forest next Monday, October 10 th , and asked that anyone who might be able to make such a presentation contact him.

9. Change in Trail Maintenance Periods. Larry Wheelock reported that a number of people have suggested that the reporting periods for trail maintenance be changed to end on December 31 and June 30 (rather than November 30 and May 30). He explained that those who advocate this change believe that this revised period would more accurately reflect the trail maintenance season. It was noted that the Trails Chairs would have the following month to complete their paperwork and submit reports to the Trail Conference.

Walt Daniels commented that the paperwork required of trail maintainers should be more narrowly tailored to the type of trail being maintained. He also commented that the Conference should be reporting to each park the extent of work done by Conference volunteers each year. Larry Wheelock pointed out that the Conference should be keeping more accurate records of deficiencies that the reports reveal, so that these conditions may be corrected. Denise Vitale stated that she thought that the revised reporting periods would be appreciated by the trail crews. Larry Braun supported the proposed change, noting that the new reporting period would enable maintainers to complete their seasonal work before submitting their reports.

After discussion, the Trails Council agreed to change the reporting periods as outlined above, effective in the spring of 2006. Four members of the Trails Council were opposed to this change.

10. Relocation of Dunnfield Creek Trail. Monica Day reported that a section of the Dunnfield Creek Trail in Worthington State Forest had been washed away by Hurricane Ivan and has been relocated to higher ground on the east side of the creek. She explained that the route chosen was a herd path developed by hikers who sought to bypass the washed-out area, and that the ridge followed by the relocated trail eventually comes down to the level of the existing trail, avoiding the necessity of descending a steep slope. After discussion, the Trails Council unanimously agreed to approve this relocation of the Dunnfield Creek Trail.

11. Adoption of Trails in Minnewaska State Park Preserve. Larry Braun explained that the Conference has been requested by Mike Krisch, the new manager of Minnewaska State Park Preserve, to adopt two trails that start at the Peters Kill parking area on the north side of Route 44-55. He pointed out that one of these trails is blazed red and would be known as the Peters Kill Loop, and that the second trail, which heads north and connects to the High Peters Kill Trail, is blazed yellow and will be known simply as the Yellow Trail. He noted that both trails already exist and have been maintained up to now by park rangers. After a brief discussion, the Trails Council unanimously approved the adoption by the Trail Conference of these trails.

Larry Braun also explained that the Conference has been asked to maintain a formerly unmaintained trail that heads east from the Peters Kill parking area for about half a mile, going towards Dickie Barre and connecting with the High Peters Kill Trail. He noted that this trail would be blazed white and would be known as the Dickie Barre Trail. Daniel Chazin commented that these new trails would make possible additional loop hikes in the area. After a brief discussion, the Trails Council unanimously approved the adoption by the Trail Conference of this trail.

12. Franny Reese Preserve. Larry Braun reported that, about two years ago, Scenic Hudson acquired a 250-acre property in the Town of Lloyd, on the west side of the Hudson River, just south of the Mid-Hudson Bridge that leads to Poughkeepsie. He explained that Scenic Hudson would now like the Conference to adopt a two-mile loop trail on this property, known as the Franny Reese Preserve, in memory of Franny Reese, a dedicated conservationist who was killed in a car accident two years ago. He noted that the Mid-Hudson Chapter of ADK, a Trail Conference member club, has been asked to improve and maintain this trail (which follows an old road), but that they have some questions that need to be addressed by Scenic Hudson. Larry Braun also noted that ATV’s and mountain bikes would not be allowed on this trail. He also stated that, at present, parking is on the north side of Route 44-55, with hikers having to walk under the road to access the preserve and the trail.

In response to a question, Jane Daniels pointed out that since this trail is in a new area in which the Conference has not previously maintained trails, its adoption by the Conference would require the approval of the Board, upon the recommendation of the Trails Council. It was also pointed out that if the Conference agrees to adopt this trail, we would be responsible for its maintenance even if the Mid-Hudson Chapter of ADK declines to accept it. Pete Heckler commented that it was in our interest to adopt this trail, as we want to work closely with Scenic Hudson in developing and maintaining trails on their property. He pointed specifically to the Indian Hill Loop Trail in Sterling Forest State Park, which was constructed by the Trail Conference on land acquired by Scenic Hudson and then turned over to the park.

After discussion, the Trails Council unanimously recommended to the Board that the Conference adopt the trails in Scenic Hudson’s Franny Reese Preserve.

13. Relocation in Section 27 of the Long Path. Ed Walsh explained that this proposal is to reroute about two and one-half miles of Section 27 of the Long Path in Schoharie County off roads and onto a footpath that traverses private property, whose owners have consented in writing to the routing of the trail over their property. He noted that about half a mile of the trail would remain on the road. Ed Walsh also pointed out that one of the three private landowners is the New York State Power Authority. After a brief discussion, the Trails Council unanimously approved this relocation.

14. Proposed Trail Conference Name Change. Pete Heckler noted that the Appalachian Trail Conference had recently decided to change its name to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and he suggested that the Trails Council consider recommending to the Board that the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference similarly change its name to the New York-New Jersey Trail Conservancy. He explained that the word “conservancy” better reflects our goals and mission than does “conference,” and stated that our current name does not project the significance of our land conservation efforts. He also noted that any change would have to be approved by the Board. Jane Daniels pointed out that a name change had been considered in the past by the Trail Conference Board of Directors, but that the Board concluded at that time not to change the name.

Pete Heckler read a message that he had received from Neil Zimmerman in which he noted that, in his view, the problem with the name of the Trail Conference is with the word “Trail,” rather than with the word “Conference,” since the Trail Conference, at least at this point, represents only hikers, not bicyclists, ATV riders or other trail users.

Daniel Chazin commented that a name change for our organization raises a number of issues, and that we should not lightly change our name, which has significant recognition throughout the area, unless a thorough study is made of all possible alternatives. David Day stated that, in his view, this would be an inappropriate time to change the name of the Trail Conference, since it would look like we changed our name just to follow ATC. It was also noted that the word “conservancy” is used by a number of other organizations that are not volunteer-based. Comments were also made that the word “conservancy” implies a continued ownership of land, while we attempt to resell to the state whatever land we acquire, and that the cost of changing our name would be substantial and could better be used to advance our mission. Jim Canfield stated that he saw no benefit to changing our name. Pete Heckler commented that it would be to our benefit if the word “volunteer” could be included as part of our name – or at least as part of our “tagline.”

Pete Heckler commented that he was pleased that the discussion on this issue had proceeded in a calm, thoughtful manner.

15. The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Daniel D. Chazin
Secretary

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