Trail Conference Gives Partner Award to Willie Janeway, NYS DEC Region 3 Director

Trail Conference cites Janeway’s leadership in integrating volunteers and agency resources to develop trail networks and provide access to public open space.

The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, a federation of 100 organizations and 10,000 individuals dedicated to providing recreational hiking opportunities from the Catskills to central New Jersey, will present its Major William A. Welch Trail Partner Award to NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Region 3 Director Willie Janeway.

Major Welch was the first general manager of the Palisades Interstate Park and pioneered the concept of “cooperative management” in which volunteers and professionals work together on public lands to build and maintain trail and shelter networks for public use.  Major Welch was the first chairman of both the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, founded in 1920, and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, founded in 1925, and forged the unique cooperative working relationship between park agencies and volunteers that is now widely adopted throughout the region and beyond.

The award was announced by Trail Conference Executive Director Ed Goodell.

“Willie Janeway is the modern embodiment of Major Welch’s drive to fuse volunteers and public agencies for the public good,” Goodell said in making the award announcement. “Willie’s expertise is especially valuable in these tough budgetary times where his ’cooperative management‘ approach supports nature-based tourism and economic development at no additional cost to the taxpayers.  Most recently, Janeway signed an Adopt-A-Natural-Resource agreement with the Trail Conference for the maintenance of over 200 miles of Catskill trails and 26 lean-tos. With his support, Trail Conference volunteers will be taking on more trail responsibilities in the Catskills, helping to maintain these important destinations for visitors and residents. Government needs more volunteer savvy managers like Willie.”

The Major William A. Welch Trail Partner Award is presented to those outside the Trail Conference--for example, state, federal, or local agency partner officials--who have given long and/or significant assistance to the local hiking community.

The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference partners with parks to create, protect, and promote a network of 1,800 miles of public trails. We offer volunteer opportunities for people who love the outdoors.