Stewardship at the Trail Conference

       Stewardship is one of those words that can have several meanings depending on the context. At the Trail Conference, stewardship means care of our preserved natural areas. We do this through many programs including our trail stewards who promote responsible use of the trails and “leave no trace” principles at several popular trail heads. But the larger program involves protection of the natural communities through several citizen science programs involving volunteers like you. The Invasives Strike Force surveys trails for invasive plants while the ISF Conservation Corp crew and ISF Trail Crew volunteers remove them. The Lower Hudson Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management brings together all the organizations in the lower Hudson to coordinate efforts to remove invasives and promote natives across the region. The Appalachian Trail Natural Heritage Monitoring checks on the health of rare and endangered plant populations along the trail. The Southern Pine Beetle Trap Monitoring program provides an early detection of a new threat to our area. Our native plant habitat at the Trail Conference headquarters allows us to walk the walk and show how beautiful landscapes can be created using only native plants.  All these programs help us steward our forests and protect the native wildflowers, birds, bees, and butterflies. Thank you for being a part of it with us, and we look forward to your continued stewardship for years to come.

-Dr. Linda Rohleder