Bear Mountain and the Appalachian Trail

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Bear Mountain and the Appalachian Trail
Bear Mountain Trails

• A Proposal for Continuing
• An Enduring Partnership

Birthplace of an Enduring Partnership
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The enduring partnership

• Palisades Interstate Park Commission
• New York New Jersey Trail Conference
• Appalachian Trail Conference
• National Park Service

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Proposed Outcomes

• Establish a permanent, sustainable routes for the
  Appalachian Trail and other Bear Mt. trails
  consistent with National Scenic Trail standards
• Restore damaged and abandoned trail corridors
• Develop interpretive opportunities related to the
  Partnership
• Train future generations of trail volunteers

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A history of collaboration

• Palisades Interstate Park Commission
• Bear Mountain Park
• New York New Jersey Trail Conference
• Benton MacKaye the Appalachian Trail Conference
• Major Welch a National Resource
• National Park Service

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Palisades Interstate Park Commission

• Bi-state commission created in 1900 to protect
  the Palisades
• Commissioners secured public private funds for
  purchase of park lands
• Harriman donation of 10,000 acres Prison
  Commission land in 1910 included Bear Mt.

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Bear Mountain Park

• Bear Mountain Inn completed in 1915
• First Appalachian Trail section built in 1923
• Trailside Museum Ski Jump built in 1927
• Perkins Memorial Drive and Tower built in
  1932-1934

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New York - New Jersey Trail Conference

• Formed in 1920 as Palisades Trail Conference
• 83-year history of volunteers building
  maintaining trails at Bear Mountain
• Suffern-Bear Mt. trail in 1920
• First section of the Appalachian Trail in 1923
• Trail Conference currently maintains 320 miles of
  trail on PIPC holdings

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Benton MacKaye the Appalachian Trail (AT)

• In 1921, MacKaye proposed the concept of a trail
  from Maine to Georgia as the spine of a
  continuous recreational greenbelt for east coast
  urban areas
• PIPC holdings are an integral manifestation of
  Mackayes vision
• Appalachian Trail Conference formed in 1925 to
  oversee the cooperative development of the AT

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National Park Service

• National Trail System Act - 1968
• Appalachian Trail Park Office (ATPO) provides
  oversight of the Appalachian Trail through 14
  states
• Land acquisition for remaining unprotected rail
  corridor begun in 1978
• ATPO ensures resource management assistance and
  funding to the cooperative management partners

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Major Welch A National Resource

• General Manager of PIPC, 1912-1940
• First chairman of NY-NJ Trail Conference
• First chairman of Appalachian Trail Conference
• Founded National Council of State Parks
• Consulted with the National Park Service on park
  formation management
• Advocated for cooperative management systems
  (agency staff/citizen volunteers)

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Bear Mountain Trails
2003
1932
1920
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Current Bear Mt. Trails

• Appalachian Trail
• Major Welch
• Suffern-Bear Mountain
• Others
• 1777 East
• Cornell Mine

Appalachian Trail section
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Existing Design Conditions

• Topography/Vegetation
• Soils/Geology
• Water Features
• Sensitive/threatened species
• Trails
• Trail degradation
• Cultural Features
• Bear Mountain Park Use

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Topography/Vegetation

• Many steep slopes with open slabs
• Vegatation changes with elevation and soil cover

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Soils/Geology

• Extremely thin and eroded soils in upper
  elevations
• 1.1 billion year-old bedrock

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Water Features

• Intermittent streams are present
• Springs and wetlands can be found in several
  locations
• All water features need to be considered during
  trail layout

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Sensitive/threatened species

• Historical records of timber rattlesnake, fence
  lizard, rare dragonfly prickly pear
• Natural Heritage data will be sought, surveys
  will preceed construction
• Activities will be minimized in sensitive areas

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Cultural Features

• Restored Bear Mountain Inn
• Perkins Memorial Drive and Tower
• New Carousel
• Picnic area at summit
• Old roads ski jump
• Parking areas

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Bear Mountain Park Use

• 1.6 million park visitors in 2003
• Over 900,000 vehicles entered
• Estimated 500,000 visitors to the summit
• Estimated 200,000 visitors using the Appalachian
  Trail

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Trail Issues

• High Visitation
• Trail Degradation
• Trail User Safety

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High Trail Visitation

• Heavy use of the Appalachian Trail on the
  easterly side of Bear Mountain
• Heavy use at summit of Bear Mountain
• User unfamiliarity with woodland trail setting
  and leave-no-trace philosophy

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Trail Degradation

• Eroded soil
• Loose stones
• Trampled vegetation
• Damaged tree roots
• Widened treadway

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Trail User Safety

• Trail co-aligned with Perkins Memorial Drive
  narrow road/small shoulder
• Conflict between heavy traffic hikers
• Loose stones in eroding trail treadway

Appalachian Trail along Scenic Drive
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Desired Outcomes

• Design/build three permanent trail routes (i.e.
  AT, SBM Welch) on Bear Mt.
• Restore natural resources of abandoned trail
  corridors (re-vegation, etc.)
• Recruit and trail volunteers
• Demonstrate and interpret trail building, AT
  experiences, and Partnership efforts

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New Appalachian Trail Route

• Create a sustainable trail route
• Accommodate heavy trail use through proper trail
  design construction
• Link natural, historic, cultural features
• Increase Trail access for people with disabilities

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What the new trail might look like
Self draining natural surface trail
Gravel surfaced accessible trail
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What the new trail might look like
Stone retained treadway on steep terrain
Stone stairway protects adjacent vegetation
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Resource Restoration

• Restore damaged trail segments
• Rehabilitate closed sections of old trail
• Minimize erosion and run-off on all trails

After
Before
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Increase Trail Interpretation

• Demonstrate trail construction process
• Interpret trail restoration process
• Incorporate natural cultural history into
  interpretation program
• Highlight AT hiking experience, trail etiquette,
  and leave-no-trace philosophy

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Recruit and Train Volunteers

• Involve volunteers in trail construction and
  resource restoration
• Conduct public trail maintenance workshops

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Next Steps

• Summer 2004 Assemble local and outside experts
  for the trail design process
• Fall 2004 Design charrette at Bear Mt.
• Winter 2004/2005 Prepare working drawings
• 2005 - 2010 Work cooperatively to implement
  plan
• Ongoing Secure funding for implementation

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Birthplace of an Enduring Partnership