FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2007

11:00 a.m.  –  noon Opening Plenary Session

Welcome  Charles Reaves, City of Rochester Parks Commissioner
Robin Dropkin, Executive Director, Parks & Trails New York

Keynote – Carmella R. Mantello, Director, New York State Canal Corporation
Presentation of Canalway Trail Tender Award

Noon – 12:30 p.m.  Transition Time

12:30 p.m. – 4:30 Field workshops

• City of Rochester Trail System - From Urban to wild along the Genesee River
• Genesee Valley Greenway - Successes and challenges in developing and managing a 90-mile greenway
• Erie Canalway Trail - Creative Design Solutions
• Lehigh Valley and Auburn Trails - Not for profits and local governments working together to create a network of parks and trails

6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. reception, cash bar, vendor and exhibit hall open

7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. awards dinner

Address – Carol Ash, Commissioner, NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation
presentation of 2007 Greenway and Community Trail awards

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2007

7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Registration and continental breakfast

8:30 a.m. Welcome

Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks (invited)

8:40 – 9:35 a.m. Plenary

Keynote:  Craig Della Penna, Executive Director, Northeast Greenway Solutions
Trails and Greenways:  Inspiring people to do things beyond their wildest dreams

9:35 a.m. -9:45 a.m. Break
vendor and exhibit hall open

9:45-11:00 a.m. Session One

Forging a Network of Trails
Creating a Statewide Networks of Trails: How can it be done?

The future of the trails movement is trail networks.  Hear what’s currently happening within the state to create federal, state, regional and local trail systems.  Learn how to develop a trails plan for your town or county and coordinate your efforts with other organizations and levels of government.

Moderator:  Irene Szabo, North Country National Scenic Trail

• Statewide Trails Plan – Robert Reinhardt, Director of Planning, NYS OPRHP
• Regional Trails Plan – Robert Torzynski, Program Manager - Bicycle & Pedestrian Planning, Genesee Transportation Council
• Local Trails Plan –Julia Stokes, Chairperson, Board of Directors, Saratoga PLAN

Design, construction, AND OPERATION
Finding new corridors for trails

Undeveloped, unbroken rail corridors are becoming increasingly scarce causing communities to look to other ways and other places to get trails built.  Learn what others have done and the costs and issues they’ve faced in using more challenging locations for trail development. 

Moderator:  Jessica DesLauriers, Trails Coordinator, Hudson River Valley Greenway

• Developing trails through natural areas – Amanda Stein, Natural Resource Stewardship Coordinator, Environmental Management Bureau, NYS OPRHP
• Taking the trail on-road – Steve Beauvais, Transportation Enhancements Coordinator, NYSDOT Region 4
• Using Road Rights of Way as trail corridors– Hal Tarry, NYSDOT Region 11

ENSURING THE FUTURE
Innovative Approaches that Reap Multiple Community Benefits

Learn what others are doing, often with very few resources, to develop and enhance trails to bring their communities added economic and quality of life benefits.

Moderator:  Peter Manning, Land Use Specialist, NYS Department of State

• Meeting the needs and desires of the bicycle tourist – Robin Dropkin, Executive Director, Parks & Trails New York
• Making Rivers and Streams the focus – Mike Prescott, Northern Forest Canoe Trail
• A new future for horses and villages – Terry Martin, Cattaraugus County Trail Advocate

11:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. break
vendor and exhibit hall open

11:15 a.m. -12:30  p.m. Session two

Forging a Network of Trails
Finding the Money

Everyone is searching for funds for trail construction and maintenance and to sustain nonprofit trails organizations.  Bring your questions for an interactive panel discussion with the experts.  Gain concrete advice on what makes a good grant application, what steps to take long before application deadlines, whether to engage a grant writer, and how to ask for money from the Legislature as well as private sources – individual donors, foundations, and corporations.

Moderator:  Elaine Troy – Healthy Heart Program, NYS Department of Health
Panel members:

• OPRHP grants - Kevin Burns, Grants Officer, NYS OPRHP
• Federal transportation funding - Doug Cotton, Enhancements Coordinator, NYSDOT Region 8
• Professional grant writers - Nikki Nielson, Director of Operations, Shingebiss Associates
• NYS Legislature staff TBA
• Private sources - Glenn Hoagland, Executive Director, Mohonk Preserve

Design, construction, AND OPERATION
Getting Started:  Lessons Learned

How do you turn a trail dream into reality?  Learn how three Healthy Trails, Healthy People program projects have progressed well beyond a dream in just a few short years.  Their varied experiences and lessons learned, both positive and negative, will provide a comprehensive picture of what it takes to get a trail project off the ground.

Moderator:  Justin Booth, Be Active New York State

• Chittenango Creek Walk and Neighborhood Trail System – Donna Lynch, Co-Chairperson, Chittenango Creek Walk Committee
• Hoosic River Greenway – Margaret Casey
• Chenango River Greenway – Tom Holmes, Chairperson, Chenango Greenway Conservancy

ENSURING THE FUTURE
Quantifying the benefits of trails with quality data

You just know great trails are, but the public, elected officials, grantors, or individual donors want you to back up your emotion with facts.  Learn what you can do to gather the data you need to persuasively and objectively establish your trail’s benefits.

Moderator:  Robert Torzynski, Program Manager - Bicycle & Pedestrian Planning, Genesee Transportation Council

• Quantifying the Economic Impact of Trails and Greenways – Carl Knoch, Manager of Trail Development, Rails to Trails Conservancy, Northeast Region
• Health Impact: Mamakating and Harlem Valley Walks – Brian Fisher, Ph.D., Principal Investigator, Prevention Research Center, SUNY Albany School of Public Health
• Defining Use: Trail counts and other surveys – John Dimura, Trails Director, NYS Canal Corporation

12:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. Lunch

1:45-3:00 p.m. Session three

Forging a Network of Trails
Securing a Corridor:  Understanding the process and the players

Problems with obtaining right of way have ended or seriously delayed many trail projects.  Knowing more about the process and understanding the motivations, culture, and operations of all parties involved is essential to successfully and efficiently negotiating and advocating for a corridor for trail use.  Key players will share their concerns and requirements.

Moderator:  Robert Reinhardt, Director of Planning, NYS OPRHP

• Private landowners – Irene Szabo, North Country National Scenic Trail, Finger Lakes Trail Conference
• Utilities –– Dave Hatch, National Grid
• Railroads –Jack Madden, P.E., Civil Engineer, Rail Program Delivery Bureau, NYS DOT

Design, construction, AND OPERATION
Planning and Designing Creative and Inspiring Trails

What a trail looks and feels like can make a difference in determining the amount of trail use, especially by those who are not already physically active.  Find out what you can do to make your trail an inspiring and vital resource in the life of the community.  Get some creative planning and design ideas from outstanding projects that can make your trail an inviting destination for everyone.

Moderator: J. Scott Lewendon, Landscape Architect, Clough Harbor and Associates

• Creating a sense of place for your trail – Dave Lutz, Executive Director, Neighborhood Open Space Coalition
• Engaging the design and arts community:  Using a trail for place-based art and design - Rick Manning, Landscape Architect
• Telling a corridor’s story with attractive yet informative interpretive signs – Greg Smith, Bureau of Historic Sites, NYS OPRHP

ENSURING THE FUTURE
Staying viable long-term

What will happen once the initial enthusiasm for a trail wears off and the original supporters have moved on?  Hear from those involved with well-established trails what you can do to ensure the long-term survival and growth of your trail and trail organization.

Moderator:  Karl Beard, NY Field Office Director, National Park Service Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance program

• Building sustainable and meaningful partnerships – Dick Hermans, President, Harlem Valley Rail
• Motivating and retaining volunteers – Lisa Spittal, Ontario Pathways
• Understanding and prospering through organizational life cycle changes – Judith Mower, J.C. Mower Consultants, Inc.

3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.  plenary, refreshments, prizes

Adding Your Voice – The Statewide Trails Coalition – Setting an agenda for trails in New York State
Facilitator:  Ed Doherty, Vice-president, Community Programs, The Community Foundation, Rochester, NY
Help develop the agenda and strategies that will guide the work of the Statewide Trails Coalition being organized by Parks & Trails New York.