Rail Trail Alliance Holds Community Session
More than 40 members of the community turned out Saturday March 24 to learn about recent progress in extending the Harlem Valley Rail Trail further into Columbia County. The presentation, at the Copake Town Hall, was co-hosted by the Copake Hillsdale Rail Trail Alliance, the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association and the Columbia Land Conservancy.
The land conservancy, in conjunction with HVRTA, was awarded an Environmental Protection Fund Grant from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation for planning and final design of a five-mile section of trail between the Copake Falls terminus and the Hillsdale hamlet. Citizens of Copake and Hillsdale formed the Copake Hillsdale Rail Trail Alliance  to support the project and raise funds for the extension through their towns. The three organizations in addition to Ray Doherty, the Taconic State Park manager, comprise the project steering committee.
The group has hired a consultant team to create the design and construction documents. The team is lead by MKM/Mark K. Morrison Landscape Architecture PC, with offices in New York City, Boston, Wassaic, New York, and Sharon, Conn. MKM has extensive experience with trail and open space projects in the New York metropolitan area, including the Putnam Rail Trail, Pelham Bay Mixed-Use Path, and Bronx River Greenway in the Bronx, and the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Beaver Pond Outdoor Education Center in Amenia.  Clark Engineering and Surveying of New Lebanon, is providing engineering and survey services for the project.

At the presentation, landscape architect Mark K. Morrison discussed work completed over the past two months to identify key site conditions, potential trailhead locations, links with existing trails, and road crossing options. The consultant team and steering committee later answer questions.

Alliance Raises Matching Funds!

The Copake Hillsdale Rail Trail Alliance has raised the matching funds required by the $121,965 New York State grant, putting the proposed extension of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail a big step closer to reality.
    The grant from the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation totals $162,620 with the $40,655 matching amount raised by the community group. The money, which will be administered by the Columbia Land Conservancy, will be used to hire a firm with expertise in trail design to create a conceptual design and final construction drawings, as well as necessary supporting studies, for the five-mile extension.
    The Harlem Valley Rail Trail currently terminates in Copake Falls, N.Y. The new section will run north from there through the hamlet of Hillsdale. The goal is to have the construction drawings ready in 12 months.  
    The expanded trail will link the two communities to the new Roe Jan Community Library and Roe Jan Park with a safe, off-road path for bikers, walkers, runners and cross-country skiers of all ages. 
    “We are thrilled that residents of Copake and Hillsdale have contributed generously to the matching amount we were required to raise,” said Nancy Schultz, a Copake resident who is co-chair of the rail trail alliance.
    “We also want to thank the Rheinstrom Hill Community Foundation and Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, which gave major support to the effort,” added Bart Ziegler of Hillsdale, the alliance’s other co-chair.
    Raising the $40,000 matching amount brings to a successful conclusion phase one of the fund-raising for the trail extension through Hillsdale. Phase two will involve seeking funds for the construction.
    The extension is being coordinated with the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association, a nonprofit group that oversees the existing trail, and Columbia Land Conservancy, which has been instrumental in working to extend the trail to its ultimate destination in Chatham,  N.Y.,  using the former right-of-way of the New York and Harlem Railroad.
    Officials of Hillsdale and Copake view the trail extension as vital to bringing more tourists to their communities and attracting new stores, restaurants and other services.
Read more about the rail trail extension here: http://registerstar.com/articles/2012/01/08/news/doc4f0918b5804a7454278117.txt

Thanks for making our wine-tasting fundraiser a success!
On Saturday Nov. 12, about 125 supporters of the rail trail extension joined us for a wine tasting at the Roeliff Jansen Community Library. The turnout far exceeded our expectations. The event raised about $2,500 for the rail trail, money we will soon put to use to hire engineers to create the construction drawings for the project. We're making great progress!

Rail trail public meeting attracts standing-room crowd
On  Oct. 15, more than 80 people turned out  at the Roeliff Jansen Community Library to hear about the rail trail extension.
The standing-room crowd heard about the project from the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association, state officials and the local residents who have formed the Copake Hillsdale Rail Trail Alliance. The audience was encouraged to play a role by donating to the cause, which can be done by clicking on this link to the Columbia Land Conservancy donation site.
Be sure to click on "Designating your gift" and select "Copake Hillsdale Rail Trail Fund" from the dropdown menu.
Your charitable gift is tax-deductible.

Read more about our Oct. 15 meeting by clicking here.

As it did in Millerton, extending the rail trail from Copake Falls to Hillsdale will attract new businesses and visitors to our communities.  We already have won a $121,000 state grant to pay for construction-ready drawings, and are near our goal of raising the required $40,000 in matching funds. Please help us raise the final $7,000 so we can get the work under way this year.

Have a question about the rail trail extension? Email us at railtrailextension@gmail.com.