PARK MANAGER’S CORNER

by Tom Conklin

S P R I N G   2 0 0 6

        The sap has stopped running and the ice is finally off all of the lakes. It is hard to believe but we are again busy cleaning and planning for another summer at Grafton Lakes, Cherry Plain, and Bennington Battlefield. This past winter was not so good for snow quantity but many skiers, snowshoers, and snowmobilers were able to enjoy our 25 miles of designated park trails at least a few times.
      
         John Lowe, our new Assistant Park Manager, has been with us for over a year and half and he has finally been able to get caught up with some long overdue maintenance projects. He might be able join us at our upcoming Friends Meeting on May 4th. If you see any safety or maintenance concerns when you visit the park, please let us know at the park office.
       
        Melissa Miller and her new SCA intern, Connie Schuler, have been very busy planning for Earth Day,Trails Day and many other exciting programs. Please call either of them if you have new ideas for programs or can help us out.
       
        Please do not forget the upcoming Trail Advisory-Trails Day Meeting which is scheduled for Wednesday, April 19th at 6:30 pm in the Nature Center. Also, our quarterly Friends Meeting is scheduled for May 4th at the Nature Center @ 7:00 pm. If time permits, I would like to have an open discussion on the possible purchase of Friend’s T-shirts and hats.
       
         In this short column I continue to try to update everyone on some of the accomplishments and events/programs that have occurred at Grafton Lakes State Park since the last newsletter:
        
        We had a good turnout (over 100 patrons) for the Backyard Maple Sugaring Programs.
       
         I recently met with the NYS DEC staff and they continue to collect air quality data at the Nature Center. Please call if you have any questions about their        sampling.
       
        You have heard this before, but dedicated Friend’s members CONTINUE to work on a proposal to restore the Dickenson Fire Tower, especially Dick            Gibbs, Paul Kolakowski, Jack Keenan and Warren Broderick. Many thanks go to Lorraine Macey for continually updating the "Friends" membership                roster and to Theresa Cuttone for keeping the treasury up to date. Randy Kneer, Fran May and I will soon be calling members that have had their                membership lapse. The Membership Year is now the Calendar Year so before we lose anyone, we want to call one more time.
 THANKS AGAIN TO ALL " FRIENDS " FOR THEIR ONGOING HELP. PLEASE CALL THE PARK OFFICE
@ (518) 279-1155 AT ANY TIME FOR INFORMATION OR TO OFFER SUGGESTIONS.

THANKS, TOM CONKLIN