Committee Reports

From trail work and wildlife monitoring to trip leadership and event planning – here's what our committees were up to last month.

A.T. Management

Most recent meeting: 15-July-2024 ✧ Wildlife transects, corridor monitoring, and trail maintenance are ongoing; most blowdowns have been removed ✧ Project schedule is in full gear; Tuesday and Saturdays are available on ActDB ✧ Trail magic is creating conflict with land owners and maintainers, leaving behind trash and unattended food which ultimately attracts wild animals ✧ Completed an addition (3rd crib) to the Mark Noepel Shelter Privy on Mt Greylock. Members of our local Army reserve aided in carrying a significant amount of lumber 1 mile up the A.T. to the shelter ✧ Future plans: Bog bridge replacement, A.T. Corridor Maintenance Camp, and camping at Pittsfield State Forest ✧ Volunteer recruitment needs: natural heritage monitors, trail maintainers, corridor monitors, shelter coordinator, and 2025 committee vice chair ✧ Next meeting: 26-August-2024

Bicycling

6/29: Intro to Recreational Road Cycling ✧ 7/13: Turners Fall Ride ✧ 7/14: Sunderland to Leverett Ride ✧ 7/20: Berkshires Ride ✧ 7/27: Tour of the Hamptons Ride August and September bike rides listed on Act DB

Communications

July Highlight: The website saw its largest number of views since January ✧ Facebook: 17 posts (top post: Connecting Women, Connecting With Nature) ✧ Instagram: 14 posts (top post: Connecting Women, Connecting with Nature) ✧ Newsletters: 1418 messages sent ✧ Website: 1) changed Family Outings to Family Programs, 2) reworked Educators Outdoors (formerly YOP) page, still in progress, 3) added new Member Favorite: Accessible Trails, 4) added new volunteers and one new chair, and 5) researched SEO requirements

Family Programs

The June StoryWalk^® at Noble View Outdoor Center in collaboration with the Hilltown Family Center was It Looked Like Spilt Milk ✧ June 1: Represented Family Programs at TrailsFest at Mt Wachusett ✧ June 1: Held an Adopt a Trail work day at Noble View for National Trails Day ✧ June 8: Hosted, with ExCom members and Stewards Council folks, the Laurel Day Social & Hikes ✧ June 17: Attended a Western MA Annual Meeting & Bash Zoom ✧ We continue conversations with Hilltown Family Center re: permanent StoryWalk^® signs on the All Persons Trail ✧ Hikes With Tykes occurs on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month. Parents, grandparents or primary caretakers of birth to 2 year olds, are invited to join this hike series geared to get all out on the trails in and around the Connecticut River Valley. ✧ The July StoryWalk^® is The Hike by Allison Farrell ✧ Planning is ongoing for a NET Family event, the Fall/APT celebration, and upcoming Fall 2024 / Spring 2025 programs

NET Management

Gary Hartwell began as the new Adopter for Section 3 of the NET - training hike completed in July ✧ Lou Graham, Section 14 Adopter and Committee member, completed a 2-day AMC Chainsaw Training held at Noble View ✧ Lyon's Brook Bridge Project Part 2 completed ✧ With assistance from MA DCR, materials that had been prefabricated were transported to the work site; volunteers built cribbing that raised the height of the bridge, which was then secured into rock base ✧ NET Adopters spent 240 hours during the months of June and July on trail maintenance ✧ AMC Pro Trail has been hard at work on Section 7 of the NET, building rock steps on Long Mountain, which has generated positive feedback from the hiking community ✧ Serena Kramer, NET Community Outreach Intern, has been working with local Environmental Justice communities by promoting the ability to access the trail using public transportation

Paddling

Most recent meeting: 17-April-2024 ✧ 20s/30s flatwater paddle at Holyoke Rows, June 12 evening, lead by Matt Hart and Deb Weisenstein ✧ Water chestnut pull on Chicopee River led by Cynthia Boettner and M.T Durr on June 29 ✧ Beginner kayak instruction at Barton Cove on July 6 and 7 with Bonna Wieler, Dee Dice, and Deb Weisenstein instructing ✧ On-water leader training and role-playing scenarios for LITs at Barton Cove on July 7 led by Jack Gill and Deb Weisenstein ✧ Deerfield-Fife Brook class 2 whitewater trip led by Jack Gill and Derek Ahl (2nd co-lead) on July 18 ✧ Deerfield-Fife Brook class 2 whitewater trip led by Jack Gill and Jason Costa (2nd co-lead) on July 21 ✧ Women's Weekend at Noble View paddle trip on July 28 at Littleville Reservoir