We were honored to co-host Congressman Peter Welch with our partners at the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park where our Woodstock Crew has been hard at work. Our Conservation Program Director, Patrick Pfeifer, along with park staff Kat Robbins and Rick Kendall, the Park Superintendent, took Congressman Welch on the short hike to the work site.

The crew is working to support public trails access on trails owned by the National Park Service, the Town of Woodstock, and the Faulkner Trust. One of the connector trails is badly eroded, so the crew was working on drainage improvements, and working together to move a massive rock.

The Woodstock Crew proudly showed Congressman Welch their work this summer, the tools they have learned to use, and the learning that surrounds a VYCC project—leave no trace, nature of the day, the impacts of climate change, and more. The crew explained about how they have to work as a team, how the work is challenging but that they get to see the impact it makes and that they know it will last a long time.  Congressman Welch shared with the crew that he often hikes or runs on trails and knows that a lot of work goes into it, but it makes it all that more real to see a crew in action.

A returning Crew Member, Silas Bohen, explained that he came back this year because he really liked the community aspect and that his Crew Leaders were really great (shoutout to Josh Carpenter and Alex Altenkirch from 2018!).  Plus, he likes the work, and his dad, Pieter Bohen, did VYCC back in the day!

Park Superintendent Kendall shared that he did Corps like work when he was young, and is continually impressed to see young people doing the work, and the lasting legacy it will bring.  It always makes him feel proud to go back to sites he worked on 20 years ago and see them still standing, and knows that this crew’s work will do the same.

Our thanks to Congressman Welch, his staff, and the staff at Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP for a great day.

VYCC is proud to continue a long-standing partnership with the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park and the Woodstock community. We were recently awarded the 2019 Annette Compton Fiertz award for advancing the Woodstock Trails Partnership goal of trail stewardship, outreach and education, and volunteerism and partnership development to support and enhance the Woodstock trail network.