To All Springtime Enthusiasts,
 
This Saturday, April 16th we will have the first hike on our newest trail --  the Homestead Trail which starts on Cook Road in Essex and connects the Boquet Mountain Trail to the Beaver Flow Trail.  Everyone is welcome!  The trail may be wet so please plan accordingly. 
 
We will meet at 9 am at the trailhead (Directions below) and be done by noon.  This will be mostly a hike with a bit of sprucing up the trail along the way.  So, plea

You Are Invited to Celebrate
Champlain Area Trails
Featuring Bill McKibben

Join Champlain Area Trails (CATS) in celebrating National Trails Day with acclaimed author, educator and environmentalist Bill McKibben.

Date: Saturday, June 4, 2011, 4-6 pm
Location: 2916 Lakeshore Rd (Rt 22), Essex, New York
Schedule: 4-5 pm Bill McKibben presentation (a children's nature hike will take place during the speaker); 5-6 pm Reception (food and drinks)
Cost: Before June 1: $15/person, $30/family. After June 1: $20/person, $40/family. (Note: Children are free!)
RSVP: Send a check (including name and telephone number) to: CATS, PO Box 193, Westport, NY 12993
Questions: Contact us online or call 962-2287.

The new CATS trail off Cook Road (South across Shirley Forest Property) is almost complete. It connects Beaver Flow Trail to Cook Road directly across from Boquet Mountain Trail, so hikers don't have to walk the half-mile up Cook Road to continue on to the next trail. An ambitious hiker can now start at Ferris Road and traverse the Bobcat Trail, Beaver Flow Trail and Boquet Mountain Trail all the way to Jersey Street. Crossing Walker Road and Cook Road would be their only connection to the outside world.

We are partnering with Friends of Poke-O-Moonshine for a new kind of trail project this Saturday, February 5 at 9:30 a.m.

What an amazing day!  We had a great turnout and a beautiful day of hiking at Poke-O-Moonshine in what was to be a "tracking" hike to see signs of wildlife.  It had snowed the night before so the tracks we saw were just depressions in the snow with no detail indicating what the animal was except for size. 

Hike leaders David Thomas Train and Elizabeth Lee provided commentary and interpretation as we hiked up the old jeep trail to a new beaver pond.  The old beaver dam had washed out a few years ago and the DEC built a nice bridge over the now free-flowing brook.&

Join us for the CATS Trail Committee Meeting this Saturday, January 15th from 1:00 to 3:00 pm at Bill Amadon's house on Lakeshore Road in Essex.  We will discuss the Trail Adopter Program, potential new trails, trail stewardship, and upcoming priorities.  We'd love to hear your ideas and would really appreciate your participation - it is a great way to help plan and care for CATS trails.  Bill's house is at 1446 Lakeshore Road, four miles south of Essex, 6.5 miles north of Westport.  It is a two-story brick house with an orangy-red barn with grazing sheep and a llama.&nb

Here is our Autumn update on Champlain Area Trails so please enjoy reading about our progress.

Champlain Area Trails (CATS) recently merged with a newer organization called Champlain Valley Conservation Partnership (CVCP) to consolidate our resources and more effectively pursue our goals of connecting people with nature, promoting economic vitality, and protecting natural habitat, farmland, and scenic vistas. 

We usually provide more lead time on trail projects yet we are just announcing one for this weekend!  On Sunday, October 10th which is 10/10/10 we will participate in the "Global Work Day to implement solutions to the climate crisis" organized by 350.org.

WE HAVE SOME GREAT NEWS!  

CATS and several partners are hosting the “Keeping Track Wildlife Event” in Floral Hall on the Essex County Fairgrounds in Westport on Wednesday, October 6, 2010 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.   Check out the attached flyer announcing the event!

The winds can blow strong here in the Champlain Valley, strong enough to topple some big trees along the Boquet Mountain Trail and Beaver Flow Trail.  So we will gather together for a trail project on Saturday, September 18th at 9:00 am on a beautiful late summer day to cut our way through the fallen trees and open up the trails.