Improvement Work

Check out some of our recent volunteer projects improving WVLT managed lands.

Interested in volunteering with WVLT? 

Click Here to learn more!

 

Fats in the Cats
Trail Building Days

at Joppenbergh Mountain, October – December 2021

On December 4, 2021 the Wallkill Valley Land Trust  and the Fats in the Cats Mountain Bike Club hosted a trail building work day on Joppenbergh Mountain in Rosendale.  Over 20 volunteers from the WVLT and the Fats in the Cats Mountain Bike Club came together to work on finishing the new trail in the northern portion of the property.  Work included bench cutting along hillsides to prevent erosion, clearing branches from the path, and building a small bridge across an intermittent stream. Volunteers were able to spread out over the approximately 1 mile long new trail to get the work completed.  A new map was posted on the kiosk at the trailhead, but you can also find one here.  The new trail has been dubbed the outcrop trail and is currently marked with purple temporary markers.


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 To access the trail, follow the red trail  markers (Buteo Trail) from below the power lines to the apex of the loop. You will find the Outcrop trail marked in purple heading down the first outcrop ridge, to the new bridge crossing the intermittent stream. The trail on either side of the new bridge may be muddy at times and we do plan to build some bog bridges in this area to address the situation. From there you will head up hill and pass a few smaller outcrop ridges and eventually connect with the backside of the look-out loop trail which is also the old tower jeep trail.  Turning right will take you to the look-out, turning left will take you back towards the parking area. 
Our next major trail project will address this old jeep trail as it has succumbed to severe erosion during the last few major storm events. This trail will have to be fixed, and in some cases, rerouted to help protect our sensitive ecosystems and increase trail stability. 
In addition to the trail work, we expect to have official trail markers by this spring and will be seeking volunteers to help post the permanent markers. 
If you would like to be part of our Joppenbergh Volunteer work group, please contact us here. 
WVLT would like to thank all the volunteers who came out to help  build this new trail, extra special thank you goes to to Pete Nimmer from the Fats in the Cats Mountain Bike Club for helping us lay out the trailwith respect to the sensitive habitats, and to Martin Trumbore for donating his time and materials to build us two bridges in the park. 

 

NYNJ Trail Conference
Invasives Strike Force

at Joppenbergh Mountain
September 4th, 2021

 

Thanks to the NY NJ Trail Conference invasive species strike force and a wonderful group of volunteers we were able to remove hundreds of invasive plants including autumn olive, oriental bittersweet, wineberry, and japanese barberry.


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Community Work Day 
at the Rosendale Trestle

September 18th, 2021

 

A wonderful group of volunteers came out to help us remove overgrown brush and clear out organic matter and trash.  It takes a tremendous effort to keep this beautiful scenic viewpoint in top condition and we wouldn’t be able to do it without the help of our volunteers!

 

Check out the great video to the left made by Martin Weiner of Zgunks.com all about this event!