Workshop for Rural Design Opportunity

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from Nancy Krupiarz, Executive Director, Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance

The National Endowment for the Arts is funding four Design Workshops for rural areas (population of 50,000 or less). The funding would allow a non-profit organization to bring design professionals to your community to tackle regional planning and design issues. The grant provides up to $22,000 for each workshop.

The submittal is due on Friday, January 8th for the 2010 calendar year. You can learn more by visiting the website and clicking on the Request for Proposals link.

See Your Town Design

Patching Trail Together a Few Feet at a Time

easement grantor David Peterson holds a basket of picnic goodies given to him as a "thank you." (photo by Lynda Rummel)

based on an article in the Finger Lakes Trail News, Spring 2009

The North Country Trail has picked all the low-hanging fruit. This is how our trail building status is sometimes described. Most of the trail that can be built on public land has been completed or, at least, routed. The remainder of the route will have to be negotiated, small stretch by small stretch, with landowners.

The Finger Lakes Trail in New York has been teaching us how to work with landowners. A great deal of that trail (which is concurrent with the NCT for over 300 miles) passes off road by the generosity of landowners, often with handshake agreements. But, those agreements need to be made more legally binding to protect both parties. Easements are a good way to accomplish this.

The Finger Lakes Trail Conference (FLTC) has just announced three new easements on what is known as the Art Kopp section. Kopp was the former head of the Finger Lakes Chapter of the Adriondack Mountain Club. The trail between South Bradford and Watkins Glen is named for him.

The three new easements total about 1800 feet of trail, yet those few feet are critical to a continuous off-road route.

• Stephen and Kathryn Trechter, owners of Sugar Hill Farm, granted an easement of 800 feet that lie between two sections of South Bradford State Forest.
• Shirley and Peter Koseba have allowed passage from the hamlet of South Bradford to the old Moss Hill Road
• David and Paulette Peterson provided for continuation of that route with an easement from old Moss Hill Road to the state forest boundary.

Trail leaders work hard to build good relationships with landowners. Hikers need to take responsibility to observe restrictions which landowners have requested. By such means the trail will be completed.

Western Minnesota Trail High on Vergas / Frazee Agendas

based on a news article in the Frazee Forum, "OGRG discusses campgrounds, trails," Mar 25, 2009

The cities of Vergas and Frazee, Minnesota continue to discuss trail topics. This past week, at the regular session of the Otter Tail Gateway Redevelopment Group (OGRG) several continuing concerns were targeted. These included proposed campgrounds, cleaning of river bottoms and canals, plus extensive tree planting designs for the Otter Tail River.

It's all part of a master plan to route both the North Country Trail and a canoe trail through the two towns. Currently, NCT hikers here must take a road walk. The area is lovely with small lakes, home-town cafes for lunch and pie, roadside sculptures (the largest loon in the world and turkeys in a nod to the local turkey processing industry). But off the highway would be a big improvement and the towns are trying hard to make it a reality.

At this meeting, maps of the NCT and the Heartland trail were examined, but there is a lot of speculation as to just where the trails will enter and exit the town. The Heartland State Trail is a 49-mile multiple-use trail between Park Rapids and Cass Lake. It is expected that some portions will follow the river bottom for a distance. And that brought up the topic of burning the low areas bordering the Otter Tail, cutting brush and later planting hardy, beneficial varieties of trees.

There is also a possibility of a branch trail that would link Perham with Frazee.

See Frazee Focused on Trail Themes
See Frazee Working to Become Trail Town

Hammondsport NY Trail Plans to Link to FLT/NCT

Keuka Lake from the south (photo from Glenn Curtiss Museum)

based on a news article in the Steuben County Courier,"Urbana group proposes long-range land plan," by Rob Price, Mar 22, 2009

The Town of Urbana unveiled a blueprint for the long-range development of public lakefront property in the Village of Hammondsport this week. It includes creation of trail that would link to the North Country/ Finger Lakes Trail near this village in New York's Southern Tier.

If adopted by the town board, the plan includes a coordinated system of public parks linking lakefront property to the Glenn Curtiss Museum. One feature would be a long view of Keuka Lake from the hills on the east side of NY Rte 54. The total length of proposed trails is about eight miles.

The full plan hinges on the building of a bridge over Cold Brook. The bridge is critical to connection Curtiss Park with Champlain Beach, and a link from Depot Park to the Finger Lakes Trail. By this connection one can reach the June Bug Trail and the Curtiss Museum.

Another challenging segment would be switchbacks leading up the face of the hillside facing Route 54. Town Supervisor Gordon Lanphere Friday noted, "A lot of it will depend on costs. This is a long range plan."