Teatown Lake Reservation

Hudson Hills and Highlands Community Trail Program Launched!

Teatown and the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference are partnering on a new effort to provide assistance to local trail programs in Putnam and Westchester Counties. Launched in July, the “Hudson Hills and Highlands Community Trail Program” is one part of the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference’s larger effort to expand its reach east of the Hudson River from New York City to Columbia County. The Hudson Hills and Highlands Community Trail Program reflects Teatown’s commitment to expand its work throughout the Hudson Hills and Highlands, and its belief in the value of partnering with other like-minded environmental organizations.

For nearly 100 years, New York-New Jersey Trail Conference volunteers have helped public agencies provide safe and responsible access to open space from New York City west to the Delaware Water Gap and north to the Catskills. For example, their work has made possible the trails in Bear Mountain and Harriman State Parks, and long-distance footpaths in New York and New Jersey, such as the Appalachian Trail and Long Path. Today encompassing a network of 1,700 miles of trails in New York and New Jersey, the Trail Conference is a coalition of 100 clubs (including Teatown Lake Reservation) and 10,000 individual members dedicated to creating, protecting and promoting the nation’s finest network of foot trails in a major metropolitan region. The Trail Conference also is well known among outdoor enthusiasts for its outstanding hiking books and maps.

Christie Ferguson has been hired by the Trail Conference to serve as their East of the Hudson Regional Representative. Her responsibilities will include facilitating the work of the Hudson Hills and Highlands Community Trail Program. Mrs. Ferguson, a recent Master’s graduate of Bard College’s environmental policy program, will maintain offices both at Teatown Lake Reservation and at the Trail Conference’s headquarters in Mahwah, New Jersey.

The success of the Hudson Hills and Highlands Community Trail Program will depend on a strong cadre of volunteers. Trail Conference and Teatown volunteers will have the opportunity to learn about and to participate in trail building, monitoring and maintenance. At the same time, volunteers will enjoy the outdoors, make new friends, get valuable exercise – and know that they are improving the quality of our regional trails and environment! If you would like to learn more about volunteering for this new program, please contact Christie at ferguson@nynjtc.org.