High Peaks Wilderness Vegetation Management Training
On September 8, members of BETA staff and the Ski Trails Committee spent a day on the trails with NYS DEC Forester Tate Connor to gain a mutual understanding of acceptable corridor width in the High Peaks Wilderness and how best to achieve that width. This is an important step to allow our staff and volunteers to do ski trails maintenance this season and beyond.

We look forward to the work ahead and appreciate Tate’s guidance.

Ski Stewardship Program 
In the meantime, we’re building a network of Trail Scouts and Rapid Responders to help find and address maintenance issues on ski trails within BETA’s purview. Trail Scouts are committed to visiting the same trails(s) on a regular basis, but especially right after storms, and report their findings to BETA. Rapid Responders are comfortable wielding a hand saw or chainsaw to take care of maintenance issues reported by Scouts.

If you’re interested in joining the volunteer team, more information will be shared soon on our website, socials, and through an upcoming email blast.  You can sign up for our email blasts here.

When a new trail opens or a bridge is completed, it's easy to focus on the finished product. What often goes unseen are the months of planning, coordination, and relationship-building by our staff, volunteers, board members, partners, and many others that make those milestones possible.

​That's the idea behind this new column: in each newsletter I'll share a few glimpses into what happens behind the scenes.

DEC Smart Growth Grants
One recent milestone I’m happy to share was signing contracts for our DEC Smart Growth grants supporting the Mount Pisgah and East Branch Community Trails projects. Working through New York State's contracting process isn't quick or simple—in fact, it took months—but reaching that milestone unlocked $225,000 in funding that will help improve our regional trail network, far more than we've received through any previous grant program. My thanks to the Towns of St. Armand and Keene, DEC, and our state legislators for making those investments possible.

The Team at BETA
I'm fortunate to work with an outstanding team that accomplishes incredible things across our trail network and communities. An important part of my role is helping create the conditions for that success. Sometimes that means securing funding or working through administrative hurdles. Other times it's coordinating with partners to solve problems before they affect work on the ground. For example, the bridge repairs that are just getting underway in the Flume have required coordination between DEC, BETA's trail crew, and the ADK trail crew to ensure the project comes together smoothly. You'll see the results of that work in the future, but it's the behind-the-scenes coordination that rarely gets mentioned.

Ski Season Coming Soon
Finally, ski season is only four months away. Even in the middle of summer, we're already thinking ahead to winter. Setting maintenance priorities and coordinating fall work now is critical so our ski trails are ready when the snow arrives. Like many things at BETA, the work behind a great season begins long before anyone clips into their skis.

This story was also featured in Adirondack Explorer in an article skillfully written by Tim Rowlands.  Thank you Tim for such a great piece about this project, the people involved, and the ceremony to celebrate it all.