The Trail Conference has a strong tradition of advocacy and grass roots organizing to ensure that our region's trail lands remain pristine and accessible to the public. This story of foresight and battles hard-won by individuals from all walks of life is chronicled beautifully in former Palisades Interstate Park Commission Director Bob Binnewies's book The Palisades as well as in the Trail Conference's own Vistas & Vision by Glen Scherer. It is important to stop and consider that every day there are Trail Conference members hiking on lands that former members took the time to fight for--the Palisades, Storm King, Minnewaska and Sam's Point, the Kittatinnies, Pyramid Mountain, etc.

We can also look to these places and realize that there are no guarantees that protection and accessibility are forever, that we need to be ever ready to marshal our forces and advocate our interests. In the variety of forums where public access issues are discussed and decided, our influence is dependent on two things: 1) The facts and merits of our position; and 2) Most important of all in a democratic society, the number of concerned and active citizens we represent.

The Trail Conference now faces a number of pressing access issues for which we need your visible show of support in the form of letters and attendance at public meetings. At the top of our list:

• Reopening Storm King Mountain

• Developing a sound policy on off-road vehicles (ORV) in New Jersey

Storm King Mountain

In 1999, the heat of forest fires detonated old, unexploded ordnance in the soils of Storm King. A subsequent investigation revealed that the military had tested artillery between 1840 and 1960=s by shooting them from the Cold Spring Foundry and West Point Cemetery into the vicinity of Storm King Mountain. The park was closed for all recreation while the Army Corps of Engineers accessed the problem. Three years later, it is still closed, despite the fact that after scanning the area with sophisticated devices, the Corps reports that all the trails and 25 feet to either side are clear of unexploded ordinance to a depth of one foot. In fact, the Corps reports that , except one 400-acre section due east of Rt. 9W with as many as one unexploded ordnance per acre, the trails and 1,488 acres are safe for public use.

Even so, the PIPC has not yet agreed to reopen the park to hikers because they are unwilling to risk the liability of a hiker straying off the trail and becoming injured. This is in spite of the fact that in more than 70 years as a popular hiking destination, no one has been hurt by ordnance at Storm King. Faced with the indefinite closure of a favorite, popular hiking area, the Trail Conference is doing everything it can to convince the government agencies to make reopening Storm King Mountain State Park a high priority.

We need your help. Government officials need to know that real people care about the reopening of this popular hiking area. With no end in sight to the park closure, it's time for hikers who love this area to be heard.

1. Attend the public meeting which has been rescheduled for Thursday July 25 at 6:00 p.m.; call PIPC to confirm (845-786-2701). Come at 5:30 p.m. for Q&A briefing with Trail Conference staff. It is at the Bear Mountain Inn. Come and voice your sentiments.

2. After the public meeting there will be a 30-day comment period. Your phone calls, emails, and especially letters or postcards will be needed to influence the outcome positively.

After the public hearing on July 25th, we will have posted the results and outcome of that hearing on our website provide you with the names and address of agency officials and elected representatives to whom your comments should be directed.

New Jersey ORV Policy

In New Jersey, there=s a move afoot to release a new policy governing usage of off-road vehicles (ORV) in State Parks and Dept. of Environmental Protection lands. While it is too early to say exactly what that policy will look like, those who care for the environment are urged to scrutinize whatever is released. Pro-ORV advocates have reportedly delivered thousands of letters in support of ORVs on state lands over the last six months. It is time for us hikers, birders, fisherman, hunters, and naturalists of all ilks to let their opposition be heard.

At a symposium on motorized off-road vehicle use on these state lands of New York-New Jersey that the Trail Conference convened in April, there was overwhelming evidence presented about the rampant and increasing devastation caused by irresponsible and illegal ORV users. This symposium looked at the scope of the problem, the lessons learned elsewhere, and the components of an effective enforcement effort. Several things were made clear:

1. The damage from illegal ORV use has increased dramatically over the last 10 years.

2. The ORV industry is pursuing a nationwide campaign of opening public lands to motorized ORV use and New Jersey is a high priority target.

3. A successful enforcement campaign will certainly include education but must also involve updated legislation that would provide enforcement officials with the tools they need to bring the irresponsible and illegal ORV users to justice.

The New York State Outdoor Recreational Vehicle Association estimates that there are some million ORVs in New York and New Jersey and that less than 25% are legally registered and bearing license plates. Dealers seldom tell purchasers of ORVs of how few legal riding opportunities there are. There=s no point-of-sale registration and licensing requirement as there is for other motor vehicles. Accordingly, many ORVs encountered illegally on public lands cannot be traced because they lack license plates. Anecdotal evidence indicates many riders know they are riding illegally on public lands but figure they won=t get caught and, if they do, the penalty for trespassing is trivial compared to their investment in their machines.

As a result, Trail Conference maintainers and hikers in general are seeing more and more ORV tracks in cherished hiking lands.

What you can do:

1. As soon as you read this, check the Trail Conference website www.nynjtc.org or call the office for information about the current situation in New Jersey.

2. Write or email or fax to Governor McGreevey your thoughts about motorized off-road vehicles on state conservation lands.

   a. Urge the Governor to issue a clear ban on all ORV use in state park, Green Acres Open Space, and other conservation and trail lands.

   b. Support requirement of point-of-sale registration and highly visible front and back license plates for all ORVs.

   c. Urge a closed-loop funding program for licensing registration and ID plate fees with the fees applied to enforcement, restoration, and education.

Ed Goodell