Category Archives: stewardship

Finale

09 Sunday Aug 2020

Posted by in Bringing Tourists to the Byway, Mohawk Towpath, Recreation, stewardship, Uncategorized, Volunteering

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Or is it a new beginning?

Friends of the Mohawk Towpath Byway installed the final of a dozen interpretive kiosks envisioned in the Byway’s Corridor Management Plan almost twenty years ago. It started out as a cool, cloudy Saturday. Two hours later the job was done and the posts set plumb and true, ready for the first eye curious about our agricultural heritage or about recreation on the Mohawk.

Innovation was the watch word for this kiosk. Federal Byway funds were dwindling and we needed a less expensive way to produce the panels. Metal panels were used with a graffiti resistant finish. These panels were glued to an exterior plywood with a urethane based caulk. The panels were then mounted in a frame of cedar.

Once in place in two excavated post holes the holes were backfilled with an expanding foam backfill. Bill Gutelius steadied the kiosk for a critical 15 minutes while the backfill set. Nancy Papish maintained an eye on the vertical plumb bubble.

This kiosk is located in Mohawk Landing Preserve on the southern boundary of Riverview Orchards on Riverview Road in Rexford. Check it out on your next visit to the Byway. The spot is quite accessible just a short walk from the parking lot, at the end of the first board walk. You can see the kiosk from the entrance (note the handicap parking space in the foreground and the kiosk just to Nancy Papish’s right in the background.

Besides Nancy Papish’s help We are most grateful for Bill Gutelius’ assistance with construction of the frame, and hauling the finished kiosk assembly to the site. In short this kiosk installation cost about half the cost of conventional polycarbonate resin panels with square aluminum frame.

Spring is Coming…

07 Saturday Mar 2020

Posted by in Byway Administration, Recreation, stewardship, Telling the Byway Stories, Uncategorized, Volunteering

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As the snow and ice retreats we are starting to plan our activities and projects for the coming year. We have a limited budget but several low cost projects include…

The foot bridge on the 1825 towpath trail just west of the Water Authority Access Road in the Vischer Ferry Preserve. The deck needs work so that it is safe for pedestrian, mountain bike, and light trail maintenance equipment.

Friends of the Byway clean up ready for the summer season.

Interpretive Signs within the Vischer Ferry Preserve need to be cleaned. These are lacquered metal panels that tend to attract a grimy dark film over the years that needs to be washed and waxed with a quality automotive wax. We have done this in past years as a “flash mob” activity.

Self Guided Tour needs to be updated; narratives shortened so not to loose audience and add historic photos to bring the history of the site to life. We also need to add archived Erie Blvd narratives.

Wayfinding Signs need to be replaced. After 10 years some of the signs have faded, especially the south facing signs. This will start by inventorying the signs that need to be replaced and then working with the Town Highway Departments to install the replacements.

Duathlon planning is high on our priority list. This event highlights the recreational features of the Byway and provides a substantial amount of the organization’s revenue. We need sponsors and volunteers to pitch in to make this a success!

Writing and photography helps provide content for this blog as well as publicity and keeping our fellow volunteers energized and informed. Volunteering to “man” our booth at various functions provides an opportunity to “meet our public.”

Building a frame and installing an interpretive sign at the Mohawk Landing Park in Rexford. This will round out the interpretive signs envisioned 20 years ago when the Corridor Management Plan was prepared. The panels described our agricultural heritage and growing leisure time during the Industrial Revolution.

Baking healthy snacks for our work details, meetings, and events is always appreciated and helps keep the enthusiasm and energy flowing.

Roadside Cleanups twice a year where you live or work helps keep the Byway attractive for our visitors. Adopt a segment of roadway and take credit with a sign that recognizes your stewardship.

If you would like to help out with any one of these projects please let us know. Obviously some may have better appeal than others and you are certainly allowed to “cherry pick” the one or two that most appeal to you!

Comment: An informal poll of active members the Friends listed the above projects in order of priority.

  • Repair footbridge (done early April)
  • Cleaning interpretive signs (done April 14)
  • Planning Duathlon (unfortunately canceled June 9)
  • Building a Frame for interpretive sign (design complete Apr 28, Installation completed August 10)
  • Replacing Faded Wayfinding signs (inventory under way)
  • Up Dating the Self-Guided Tour (two sites added another one edited)
  • Writing and Photography (continuing)
  • Roadside Cleanups (unfortunately didn’t get done this year) and
  • Refreshments for meetings and work crews (Moved to virtual meetings).

Three write-in activities included develop public access along the Byway in new locations, partnering with other groups to do joint projects and events, and representing the Byway in the National Scenic Byway Foundation.

– added by Eric Hamilton, Apr 13, 2020.

– Updated August 29, 2020.

2018 Annual Report

29 Tuesday Jan 2019

Posted by in Byway Administration, Mohawk Towpath, Partners, stewardship, Telling the Byway Stories, Volunteering

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While wrapping up reports and other administrative requirements of the Byway and the two organizations that are the backbone of our community

  • The Friends of the Mohawk Towpath Scenic Byway, and
  • The Mohawk Towpath Scenic Byway Coalition

…we have developed a 2018 Annual Report that you can view here. It was prepared for municipal officials within the Byway corridor, as a thank you to our volunteers for a successful year, and as a tool to help tell the story of the Byway to the general public. If you do not receive your copy of the 2018 Annual Report by mid February send a request for a copy.

This is a collage of a number of successes we had on the Mohawk Towpath Byway this year.

Were you a part of it? If you were thank you for the help. If you were not please act now to make your place on the Mohawk Towpath Byway in 2019! Join the friends of the Byway while the year is young. Click here!

Intrinsic Qualities

31 Saturday Mar 2018

Posted by in Byway Administration, Historic Assets, Recreation, stewardship

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QualitiesWhat’s a scenic byway? …a road less traveled? “…a road or track not following a main route; a minor road or path.” Spring time is as good a time as any to reflect on what makes a byway.

All national scenic byways have at least one of the six intrinsic qualities: archaeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational and scenic. I think you will agree that the Mohawk Towpath Byway is rich with each one of these qualities and I would like to share share the thoughts, ideas, and suggestions that went into our Corridor Management Plan.  It was put together by our “Advocacy Committee” under the guidance of the Mohawk Valley Heritage Corridor nearly two decades ago.

Let us look at each of these qualities, each with it’s own entry, and see if they are still as relevant today as they were twenty years ago. Your comments, ideas, and perspective would be greatly appreciated!

Cultural Intrinsic Qualities – see https://wp.me/p8Z8Z1-Sd

Natural Intrinsic Qualities – see https://wp.me/p8Z8Z1-RB

Recreational Intrinsic Qualities – see  https://wp.me/p8Z8Z1-RN

Scenic Intrinsic Qualities – see https://wp.me/p8Z8Z1-ST

Archaeology as an Intrinsic Quality – see https://wp.me/p8Z8Z1-Tl

Historic Intrinsic Quality – see https://wp.me/p8Z8Z1-Tr   This is our intrinsic quality, the one we focus all our efforts on.   In fact the Mohawk Towpath Byway has been described as, “the short Byway with the longest history.”   Now, how does your story fold into the Byway story?

High Marks

24 Tuesday Jan 2017

Posted by in stewardship, Telling the Byway Stories

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cropped-NYmohawk-SquireWhippleBridge_m11.jpgDuring the year we took advantage of a tool developed by the National Scenic Byway Foundation to evaluate the effectiveness and strengths of the Mohawk Towpath Byway. The evaluation reviewed our organizational development, capacity and adaptability; our finances, fundraising and sustainability; our outreach, partnerships and advocacy; our recognition, identity, marketing, image and communications; our visitor experience; and our documented impact.

We scored an impressive 84% overall in the evaluation.  In the words of the report, we “…achieved an advanced level of sustainable excellence, focus on ensuring that your group’s high level of capacity is maintained while also maintaining your knowledge base and building upon your key strengths.”

Congratulations to all our volunteers and communities that make the Byway a success.  May we have another successful year in 2017!

Stewardship Hike

06 Friday Jan 2017

Posted by in Mohawk Towpath, recreational assets, stewardship

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dscn2233On February 3 the Town of Clifton Park will be hosting a stewardship hike starting from the Ferry Drive entrance to the Vischer Ferry Nature & Historic Preserve.  This walk led by Jennifer Viggiani often attracts botanists, natural history buffs, birders and other interesting naturalists who share their enthusiasm and their perspectives of what we see on the hikes.  This is an excellent opportunity to identify recreational and stewardship needs of the Preserve and get some idea about how wildlife is surviving the winter.

Dress accordingly and bring boots, snowshoes, crampons, cross country skis or whatever improves your winter mobility.  Don’t forget the camera!

I would like to see this type of stewardship expanded to other public facilities along the Byway.  From time to time…

  • the Spindle City Historic Society sponsors walks along the old Erie Canal locks that now line City parks
  • the Environmental Clearing House of Schenectady (ECOS) conducts hikes along recreational features in the western part of the Byway corridor; and
  • the Waterford Canal Society explores the current and old Erie Canal features in the Town of Waterford.

Let’s work together to establish and annual schedule of these activities and have a calendar of events available to our local residents as well as our Byway visitors.  This type of opportunity is what makes a visit to the Mohawk Towpath Byway a memorable experience.

I hope to see you on February 3 at 1 PM overlooking the Mohawk River at the end of Ferry Drive.