Category: Stewardship
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Fighting Emerald Ash Borer on the Appalachian Trail
This article appears in the 2025 Summer Long Trail News as “Fighting Invasive Species on the Appalachian Trail: The Emerald Ash Borer Has Spread Throughout Vermont in Recent Years.” It was written by GMC Land Stewardship Coordinator Rowan Kamman. Spend time in Vermont forests and you’ll encounter ash trees. These common trees have distinctive X-patterned…
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Big News for Strategic Conservation of the Long Trail System
This article appears in the 2025 Spring Long Trail News and was written by GMC Director of Conservation Mollie Flanigan. In previous editions I’ve described the process of developing the Green Mountain Club Strategic Conservation Plan that outlines our road map to permanently protecting the Long Trail System. Plans are great, and strategic plans are…
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Bingo! Play Along with GMC for Mud Season
Was the latest snowstorm on your bingo card for mud season? Well, it was on ours. Check off boxes as you rack up your mud season experiences and try new ways to pass this messy time of year. Download a copy of the bingo sheet to play along: Mud Season Bingo Step in ankle-deep mud…
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Trail Talk: Waterbars and Drainage
This article appears in the 2024 Fall Long Trail News and was written jointly by GMC’s Communications Manager Chloe Miller and Education and Volunteer Coordinator Lorne Currier. When Keegan Tierney, GMC’s Director of Field Programs, interviewed for his job in 2017, he said “You’ll never see me build a waterbar.” A few years later, Keegan…
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Rare Plant Discovery, A Win for Alpine Stewardship
This article previously appeared in the Spring 2023 Long Trail News under the headline “Alpine Steward Discovers Rare Plant on Mount Mansfield’s Summit.” It was written by Liam Ebner. Alpine zones, the living remnants of the last ice age, make their home on the higher summits in New England and New York, where they serve as…
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How Trail Crews Fight Erosion
“Erosion is what causes all the problems on trail,” says Kevin Hart, GMC field supervisor of the Long Trail Patrol. “The main goal of trail crew is to stop erosion.” Kevin’s not talking about bear encounters or overflowing privies or litter in firepits when he says “problems.” He’s talking about trail degradation. You know what…
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What a Day Looks Like for GMC Caretakers
This article previously appeared in the Spring 2021 Long Trail News under the title “Day in the Life of a GMC Caretaker.” As many more people than usual took up hiking last summer, the Green Mountain Club had to manage their impacts while making them feel welcome. Fortunately our caretakers can tap more than 50…
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Leverage: It’s Not About Size or Strength
This article was written by Rosalie Sharp, 2019 Long Trail Patrol Leader, and previously appeared in the Fall 2019 Long Trail News. Family and friends typically struggle to understand what I mean when I say I lead trail crews. I’ve found the quickest way to create an image is to tell them something like “My…