On Wednesday, October 19th Mountainkeeper hosted a webinar all about informal trail networks in our region and how they damage local ecosystems. We were thrilled to see nearly 170 individuals tune in for this great conversation, and if you missed it you can watch a full recorded version. We heard from experts in the field, including researchers at the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the New York Natural Heritage Program, and the United States Geological Survey, as they discussed the state of trailless peaks in the Catskills, and visitor use management plans to address them. Informal trails made by hikers put considerable strain on the health and wellbeing of native wildlife and plants, causing harmful impacts like loss of native vegetation, soil compaction, erosion, forest fragmentation, and introduction of invasive species into interior forest habitats. Want to know more about informal trails and their impact? Visit the DEC’s webpage for more information.
