Amazing how things can get ahead of you!

It’s been a busy 2014 for me so far, both professionally and personally.  Professionally the Trail Conference’s Catskills programs have continued to grow.  We launched the Catskill Conservation Corps in June and in September we brought on a year-round, part time Assistant Program Coordinator to better support our programs in the region, and I continue to manage the regional trail staff and programs for the Trail Conference.  It definitely keeps me busy, but has been some of the most rewarding work I’ve done.  In the Catskills alone, I am constantly amazed at just how much we have accomplished.

That includes opening 9 miles of new trail between the Village of Phoenicia of the High Peaks of the Catskills.  This project was decades in the making and volunteers from the Trail Conference spent the last three years constructing the new trail.  We opened the new section on National Trails Day with a crowd of over 75 people celebrating the great accomplishment that this trail represents.  More than 100 volunteers put in over 10,000 hours of service into this project!

At the same time the trail was being opened, the Trail Conference and the NYSDEC were announcing the creation of the Catskill Conservation Corps (CCC).  The CCC is a partnership between the Trail Conference and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation providing volunteer opportunities to the public on projects that protect natural resources and enhance outdoor recreation opportunities in the Catskill Mountains.  We have spent the last few months building the website for the project and developing the database resources for it.  In addition we have had a few workshops and work trips scheduled with more to come.  In addition, there’s a Volunteer Appreciation Picnic scheduled for Sunday, October 5th, that’s open to all volunteers in the Catskills!  So if you have volunteered in the park for any activity, you are welcome to be there and enjoy some great food and meet other volunteers from the region!

Our new part time staff in the region will provide even more support for our programs and allow us to continue to grow to support programs throughout the Catskill Mountains region.  After 3 1/2 years of being on my own in the region, it’s been a really welcome change to have a new staff person join me.

In other regions, the Trail Conference has expanded our AmeriCorps trail crew model from the Palisades region to also include the Taconic region.  We now have Trail Crews working 4 days a week on both sides of the Hudson River building and repairing trails in multiple parks.  Our work continues on Bear Mountain rebuilding the Appalachian Trail.  We celebrated our second year of having Trail Stewards on Breakneck Ridge where we have counted more than a thousand hikers a day visiting on weekends!  The Trail Stewards help educate hikers and visitors, guide them along the way, and assist with search and rescue on the mountain when accidents happen.

The 2014 Catskills Lark in the Park is just around the corner!  Join the Trail Conference, Catskill Center and the Catskill Mountain Club to celebrate the anniversary of the creation of the Catskill Park with 10 days of activities throughout the Catskills!

I’ve been an active member of the LSC Alumni Council this year.  Upcoming is the 2014 LSC Homecoming from September 26-28th!

Hard to believe the end of the year is just a little over 3 months away!