Volunteer work done in May of this year has been undone by criminals
From IMPACT, pictured is damaged hitching rack
Friends Improving Allegany County Trails, Inc. built a hitching rack for horses at Palmer’s Pond Day Use Area in early May on “I Love NY Parks” day, a statewide park cleanup maintenance effort. This was to replace a horse hitching rack that was backed into and destroyed, which was adjacent to the parking area. The materials to build the hitching rack were left over from the construction of a timber bridge, and purchased through a grant from Parks & Trails New York. Volunteers set the upright posts in concrete donated by Lowe’s for a solid hitching rack.
The new hitching rack was constructed on the west side of Palmer’s Pond Rd, with adequate distance to avoid being damaged. On June 16, the hitching rack that was recently constructed was destroyed by vandalism with the majority of the timber removed.
IMPACT’s efforts to improve the trails at West Almond for community benefit have been impressive, with college students and members of the community participating in work days to maintain and improve the trails. To have improvements destroyed is not only discouraging, it may result in difficulty in obtaining funding and volunteers to build future projects.
We would like to encourage all campers and users of the trail to help discourage vandalism. “if you see something, say something”. For trail emergencies, call 911 and the NYSDEC Ranger at 1-833-NYS-RANGERS.
If there is a maintenance need on the trail, such as downed trees, contact info@impactfriendsgroup.org, or the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Forestry Office, 585-466-3241.
