Enhancing the Trail Experience in Harriman State Park

Within the familiar trails of Harriman State Park, the Trail Conference Conservation Corps is diligently working to establish “invasive species-free zones” and build synergies between our programs.

The goal of this joint initiative is to restore both native habitat and trail tread along common corridors within the park.

We leveraged historical Invasives Strike Force Surveyor data to pinpoint trail sections prioritized for trail work by the Trail Conference’s Trail Crew team that were also reported as having low invasive species densities (i.e., where eradication was achievable).  

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This season, we have selected a portion of the popular Arden-Surebridge (A-S) trail and the connecting Dunning-Long Path loop from the Lake Skannatati parking lot as our synergistic site. Here, the Trail Conference’s Invasives Strike Force (ISF) Crew, Trail Crew and Trail Stewards joined forces to remove patches of invasive plants like thorny barberry, pervasive Japanese stiltgrass, spiked Japanese angelica tree, and others that were previously reported (in relatively low abundance) by our volunteer Surveyors. This joint Crew surveyed over 21 acres of the trail corridor, removing 388 individual invasive plants and nearly 247K square feet of Japanese stilt grass! Additionally, the Trail Crew built multiple drains in consistently muddy areas and a stone staircase to improve tread along the loop.  

These collective endeavors aim to enhance the trail experience for visitors, curb the spread of invasive species, and safeguard rare, threatened, and endangered species that inhabit the area.

We hope these collaborative efforts will be the first of many moving forward, benefiting the well-being of our trail lands and those who explore them for years to come.