Intro to Land Monitor Training

  The 160 miles of the Appalachian Trail through New York and New Jersey are managed by volunteers of the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference in cooperation with state and local partners, with assistance from local agencies (law enforcement, fire suppression, and search and rescue agencies). These volunteers provide a presence on the Trail as maintainers (caring for the footpath), monitors (overseeing the corridor lands, boundaries, or cultural and biological resources), and caretakers (managing the overnight use facilities). This workshop will serve as an introduction to corridor monitoring along the Appalachian Trail. It will include an overview of the skills useful in the field for this job: reporting, land ownership issues, land encroachments, land boundary surveying, relevant maps, and diagrams. The course has no prerequisite other than hiking experience and a willingness to travel away from established trails. Morning instruction will be an outdoor classroom at the Ralph’s Peak Hikers (RPH) Cabin in Hopewell Junction, N.Y., followed by afternoon field experience on the nearby Appalachian Trail boundary. Dress for the weather and for hiking off-trail bring lunch and water.