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For more information contact:
Pegi Adam
973-744-6090
Ed
Goodell, 201-512-9348
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Mahwah, NJ – The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference (NYNJTC),
formed in 1920, is one of the country’s oldest and most
comprehensive hiking organizations. Its members constructed the first
section of the Appalachian Scenic Trail (AT) that now extends more
than 2,100 miles, all the way from Springer Mountain in Georgia to
Mount Katahdin in Maine.
The non-profit federation represents 82 organizations and 7,500
individuals in the bi-state region, for a total constituency of
100,000 hikers and naturalists. It provides trail maintenance for
public agencies and private land trusts, publishes authoritative
hiking books and maps and has an active trail corridor acquisition and
advocacy program.
Approximately 1,500 miles of publicly accessible trails in New
Jersey and New York come under its care, from the Delaware Water Gap,
north and east, through the Catskills to the Massachusetts border.
These include sections of the AT as well as state and national parks
and forests and those on private land trusts. The NYNJTC, along with
the AT, coordinated efforts to build the Pochuck Creek boardwalk and
suspension bridge crossing Pochuck Creek floodplain, in Vernon
Township, NJ. The 24-year endeavor was completed in 2002, forming a
"missing link" section of the Appalachian Trail -- an
off-road hiking route between the Pochuck and Wawayanda mountains,
previously served by a busy, winding highway.
The Trail Conference’s Staff and Volunteers include naturalists
and mapmakers. According to Bill Bryson, author of A Walk in the
Woods (about his experiences hiking the Appalachian Trail), the
New York - New Jersey Trail Conference maps are the finest available:
"And here was a final, joyful bonus: I had excellent maps.
I was now in the cartographically thoughtful hands of the New
York-New Jersey Trail Conference, whose maps are richly printed in
four colors, with green for woodland, blue for water, red for
trails, and black for lettering. They are clearly and generously
labeled and sensibly scaled (1:36,000) and they include in full
all connecting roads and side trails. It is as if they want you to
know where you are and take pleasure in knowing it."
Volunteers are key to the continuing success of the NY-NJ Trail
Conference. The website, www.nynjtc.org, lists volunteer opportunities
ranging from trail maintenance and hiking guidance to office work. It
also lists hiking clubs and organizations, hiking workshops,
"action alerts," on a relevant issues, lobbying needs and
other items of interest to hikers.
For information, maps and hiking assistance, contact the New
York-New Jersey Trail Conference, 156 Ramapo Valley Road, Mahwah NJ
07430. Phone 201- 512-9348. Fax 201-512-9012. Website: www.nynjtc.org
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