Let’s Hear It for Our 2025 Trail Conference Conservation Corps!
Thank you for an extraordinary season, trail blazers!
Recently, we gathered at the Welch Trail Education Center to celebrate the successful 2025 season of our Trail Conference Conservation Corps and champion their commitment to trail stewardship and service.
Spirits were high as the crews shared their end-of-season presentations, showcasing the lasting impact they’ve made across our trail lands. Below is just a glimpse at their achievements:
- Our Invasives Strike Force treated 95.6 acres of park land in the fight against invasive species—including removing 4,507 Japanese spiraea and eliminating over 133,600 square feet of Japanese stiltgrass.
- Our Hudson Valley Trail Stewards assisted 1,236 lost hikers, helped 16 injured hikers, and maintained over 50 miles of trail across the Hudson Valley region.
- Our Catskill Summit Stewards educated 4,660 hikers, removed 68 illegal fire rings, assisted 10 lost hikers, and cleared 35.5 miles of trail corridor throughout the Catskills.
- Our Megalithics/Palisades Crew made tremendous strides in Sterling Forest State Park, building 294 linear feet of new trail, improving 152 feet of trail, renaturalizing 108 feet of trail, and constructing 37 drainage structures to improve tread and combat erosion.
- And our Taconic Crew crushed it on the Brook Trail revitalization project in Hudson Highlands State Park, installing 10 mammoth stone steps, completing 105 linear feet of stone wall, renaturalizing the former pathway, and reinforcing the top of timber steps.
These victories just scratch the surface. In total, 26 Conservation Corps members dedicated a whopping 19,400 hours of service over 6.5 months in 2025!
To all of our 2025 TCCC members, thank you for your passion, commitment, and drive. You play a crucial role in protecting our shared outdoor spaces for future generations!