Sinkhole on Hojack Trail near Drumm Rd. after rain event Mon. 9/9 (Ben W. photo)

Upcoming Events

Sat. 10/19 – FWT ReTree Workday 9-11 am  Parks and Rec Barn (708 Webster Road)  ReTree has been adding resilience to our open spaces for three years, resulting in hundreds of new trees and shrubs in our open space. Join us for our annual planting event as we move seedlings from our nursery to the field. This is a family-friendly event.  Due to limited parking at the planting site, we will meet at the ReTree Nursery/First Responders’ playground and carpool there.  Bring: work gloves, shovels, tick repellent

Sat. 11/2 – Scavenger Hunt 10:30 am – 12:30 pm at WRNP Our Family Scavenger Hunts have become favorite events, and you won’t want to miss our fall edition at Whiting Road Nature Preserve. A variety of clues geared to ages 2 and up make this a perfect event for the whole family.  Registration is required through Webster Parks and Recreation.  $5.00 Per child fee, collected at the event, with proceeds to FWT.

Sat. 11/2 – Hot Cocoa Hike 7:00 pm  Parks and Rec

Hike in the dark, with a sweet treat at the end! Bring your flashlight for a family-friendly hike through the woods of the Chiyoda trail. The loop is approximately 1.3 miles long and includes a stop for socialization and hot cocoa.  This is a fun, free, and self-guided hike. Please leave the parking lot between 7 and 8pm, arriving at your hot cocoa stop by 8:30pm.

The trail will start at the west side of the Parks and Rec building and be marked by lights along the way. This is not a guided event. You are responsible finding your way to the hot cocoa and back by following the marked path. So that everyone can enjoy this event, please leave your dog at home; you can bring them back to enjoy the trail another time.

Mon. 11/11 – Annual FWT Meeting Hear about the accomplishments of FWT during 2024 and plans for the future.  Finn Park Lodge 850 Maple Drive  6 pm

President’s Column

By Anna Taylor

Recognition. It is an interesting challenge sometimes. There are those flashy people, in the spotlight,
whom you cannot stop seeing or hearing about, whether you want to or not sometimes. Then there are those people behind the scenes, who do the work.

Sometimes, their work, and the result of their work, is so beautiful it makes your heart swell, your eyes tear, and your lungs fill with gratitude. Hike our Webster trails, and you will feel that. How do you suitably recognize amazing dedication, hard work, vision, and years of personal time volunteered to our Webster open spaces and trail network? This has been my challenge at the close of 2024 for FWT.

Our beloved Trail Steward Dennis Kuhn is retiring at the end of the year from his role as the Four Mile Creek Preserve Steward. Along with Dennis are Larry Yost and Rich Morrill, also long-time volunteers and past leaders with Friends of Webster Trails. They have been building the beautiful wood trail maker signs you see out on our trails. Larry and Rich are handing over the torch, or rather the “saw,” this year also.

Then there are our current Board Members, including our longest-serving ones: Hal Harris, Norma Platt, Ron Happ, Sharon Galbraith, and John Boettcher. They continue to actively contribute by serving on the FWT Board, and they plan, build, and maintain our trails, plus so much more. These folks, along with others, established Friends of Webster Trails, its mission and vision.

Certainly, we are going to celebrate their dedication and contributions at our November FWT annual meeting this year. Collectively, their work on the trails has set Webster apart, making our open spaces and trail network one of the most amazing in the county and state. As I hear often from new hikers who travel to our events, wow, I wish we had this in my town.

Besides the celebration and a big thank you, the most import thing we can do is continue the work. With that I say, refer to the reports in this Newsletter! Under the leadership of our New Trails Committee Chair, New Scout/Youth Coordinator and current Trail Stewards, 2024 has been wonderful year in the completion of incredible projects on our trails. Two of our newest trails Herman Road Forever Wild Forest and the State Road Nature Preserve have seen significant trail infrastructure improvements. From our Board, our secretary Sarah White has kept our message consistent and clear on social media. Our website improvements have allowed us to document and communicate all our work, past and present, to the community. In 2024 we also welcomed three New Trails Stewards who will be carrying on an incredible tradition of stewardship. We look forward to collaborating with them.

In closing, I invite anyone reading this newsletter to come out and volunteer at a trail workday or ReTree event. Join us for a group hike. Become a Friend of Webster Trails Member and recommend us to your friends and family. Reach out to the us, the Webster Parks and Rec Dept, and the Town of Webster and share your love of the Webster trails, note that they matter to you. Lastly, and most importantly – Enjoy! Take a hike, run, ride your bike, play, take photos, and have fun on our Webster Trails.

Thank you everyone for a successful 2024.

Membership News

by Denise Bilsback

Summary of Donations for the last 12 months:

Treasurer’s Report

Steward Reports from the Trails

Finn Park Nature Trail – Rebecca and Bernie Bonn

Thanks to the coordinating efforts of FWT Trails Committee Chairperson Linda Siple and Boy Scout Troop 110 Committee Chairperson Dave Naiko, several scouts from Troop 110 and their families came out to Finn Park in late June to do a massive cleanup.  Metal barrels, tires, plastic containers, hoses and other debris that had been dumped in the northeast corner of the field throughout the years were removed.  It was a long overdue task, that was made more difficult because of the overgrown vegetation (including thorny blackcap raspberry brambles!).  Below is a celebratory photo taken after all the hard work.  Thank you Troop 110!

Hojack Trail (east) – John Boettcher

The Webster Village is applying for a grant which would provide funds to improve the appearance of this section including surface, lighting and benches in 2025.

Hojack Trail (west) – Bud Gearhart

It has been a busy summer on the Hojack Trail.  Keeping the foliage trimmed back so the trail doesn’t become overgrown is an ongoing challenge.  There is a lot of ground to cover, and the trailheads, in particular, seem to need cutting back almost every week.  We have had a lot of storm damage resulting in trees down across the trail.  Our thanks to those who notified us when there were problems.  We are still recovering from the damage from the big storm on September 9^th.  Kudos to the Webster Highway Department who repaired the big sinkhole near Drumm Rd. so promptly (photo at top of newsletter).  There are other areas that still need repair.  Before too long, I will be out on the trail with my blower to clear the leaves for the bikers and walkers.  I have had the chance to meet and talk with many of you while trimming this summer and hope to continue doing so as I blow leaves.

State Road Nature Preserve – Paul Dellapietra

There was a FWT workday at the preserve back in May and another in August.  We are making progress.  We have a parking lot and a sign.

Whiting Road Nature Preserve – Ron Happ

It has been a very busy spring and summer at WRNP.  Boy Scouts built four bridges for Eagle projects.  Sawyer Zimny from Troop 110 built two replacement bridges on the orange trail.  Alan McBeth and Joseph Webster, both from Troop 215, each built a bridge connecting the Herman Road Forest with the pink trail at WRNP.  I want to give a big thank-you to Ed Hewig who brought in a great many loads of stone with his ATV and trailer for the bridges and trails.

For the rest of this fall I hope to catch up on trimming the trails back and then it will be time to blow leaves off the trails.

Gosnell Big Woods Preserve – Craig Hurlbut

You know it’s Fall when the Big Field gets mowed, and one can see the entire field clearly. You may have noticed that under and around the fence has been trimmed.  I think it looks much better and I hope everyone takes some time to come and check out the trail.  I recently met a 20-year resident of Webster who lives a few miles away.  He enjoys the outdoors but was taken completely by surprise when I described the Gosnell Preserve to him.  One day he hiked the field and into the woods and since then, every time I see him he talks about how much he enjoys it!  This area can still be a nice surprise for anyone who wants to get outdoors.  The old growth trees in the Big Woods are a rare find.

Four Mile Creek Preserve – Dennis Kuhn

During the month of July there were two projects that helped improve the hiking experience at Fourmile Creek Preserve. The first project involved the Webster Thomas Cross Country team. About twenty team members and their coach, Jim Brunswick, eagerly hauled about eight yards of crushed stones to the south side of the blue trail. Craig Hurlbut helped coordinate the project and provided donuts to fuel the enthusiasm of all the participants. It was a job well done!

If you have ever hiked the orange trail during the spring of the year you will probably leave the preserve with wet and muddy footwear. Thanks to Eagle Scout, Liam Ernst, and the Eagle Scout project coordinator, Pat Fulkerson, you will no longer have that problem. Now there is about 200 feet of boardwalk that basically eliminates the many wet spots along the orange trail. It was another job well done!

Vosburg Hollow Nature Trail – Rich Bilsback

The rain storm on Sept. 9 caused Shipbuilders Creek to overflow its banks, and a 40-foot boardwalk on the trail was pushed off its foundation. Rich and Denise Bilsback were able to reset the boardwalk a few days later.

Chiyoda Trail – Denise Bilsback

Chiyoda’s one-mile trail winds through a wooded area near the Webster Park and Recreation Center. This path is paved and is a great way to get exercise when other trails are too muddy to walk. There is also a dirt path that extends to Route 250, connecting to Bird Sanctuary Trail-Hojack Trail and beyond, making it a great place to start your hike if you are looking for a quick dry walk or if you are looking to put down some serious miles. There have been many loads of gravel added to the dirt part of the trail this year to help with some of the wet spots. 

Habitat Preservation Committee

by Norma Platt

The folks on the Habitat Preservation Committee have, once again, made consistent and substantial improvements in Webster’s Open Spaces.  Here’s what we’ve been up to this year.

4/23	pulled garlic mustard at the Gosnell Big Woods along Pellet Rd.
5/3	pulled garlic mustard at the John Ungar
5/17	pulled garlic mustard at the Gosnell Big Woods along along Lake Road
5/24	planted Ninebark on Black Trail at WRNP
5/31	pulled Garlic Mustard and planted Ninebark and Wetland Rose at Bird Sanctuary
6/7	pulled garlic mustard and censused existing plantings at John Ungar Nature Trail and Michael A Johnson Nature Preserve
7/26	cleared and marked plantings at WRNP brown & green trails
8/16	monitored plantings and putzed the rehab area at Gosnell
8/23	removed Autumn Olive along the John Ungar Nature Trail
9/6	cleared around plantings on WRNP black trail
9/20	planted Witch Hazel, Spicebush, Basswood, Hackberry at Four Mile Creek Preserve

Trail Usage Update

by J. Boettcher and R. Murray

Some of the usage information was given in the Spring newsletter.  Since then, we have repeated counts on three of the trails:  Hojack Trail North (east of Drumm) (HTN), Four Mile Creek Preserve (FMCP), and Gosnell Big Woods Preserve (GBWP).  The new counts mirror what we originally found with the increased counts perhaps attributable to the warmer weather.

Trail	Counts/Week 11/2023	Counts/Week 8/2024
Hojack Trail North	519	789
Four Mile Creek Preserve	594	648
Gosnell Big Woods Preserve	897	1213

Another study looked at the traffic on individual trails in a preserve.  For this we looked at GBWP where we were interested in the use of the Big Field and the Big Woods.  The count for entire preserve was done at a location shortly after exiting the parking lot before there was any opportunity to take a side trail.  To measure the Big Woods area, we set up the counter at the entrance to the Big Woods from the Big Field.  The use of the field was measured using a location in the SW corner of the Big Field.  These were measured in adjacent weeks and the results are given below.  The woods trail gets only 30% of the total traffic of the preserve.  In a perfect world, the counts for the field would be 70% but we found a much larger number.  Indeed, it exceeds the total for the preserve.  Part of the explanation is that a significant number of counts were measured in the middle of the night, and we believe them due to deer bedding down nearby.  No such middle of the night activity was noted in GBWP or GBWP-woods. 

Trail	Counts/Week
GBWP	1213
GBWP – woods trail	376
GBWP – field trail	1449*

So, the count information is, perhaps, giving us some insight as to the users of the trail.  The Big Field is a gentle, nearly one mile trail around the field and is convenient for dog walkers and walkers.  These probably are regular users of the trail.  The Big Woods trail is much more challenging, a good deal longer, and attractive to infrequent visitors.

ReTree Fall 2024 Report

by Sarah M. White and Norma Platt

He who plants trees, plants hope.  (Poem by Lucy Larcon “Plant a Tree”)

By that measure, ReTree is making Webster full of hope, adding diversity to Webster’s open spaces and building habitat.

Upcoming events:  Now that the cooler weather of autumn has arrived, ReTree is getting ready for the major planting event of the year at the October Workday on Oct. 19, along with an additional corporate-sponsored event:

• Fall planting workday: Herman Road Forever Wild Forest
• RGE planting day: partnering again with RGE in Finn Park

What we’ve learned:  With more than 400 new plantings in Webster’s preserves, monitoring the survival rate is a major undertaking. Thanks to the Habitat Preservation Committee, we have updated data for this year, and learned some things.   

At sites that weren’t overgrown and where flagging was intact, we were able to do a creditable job locating plants. On these sites, our records indicated there were 337 plants, and 249 were located. Due to missing markers/flags or GPS location data, 88 could not be found.

An additional 140 plants are in areas that were impassable or overgrown with other vegetation.  These are mainly conifers and should be more evident after frost.  Additional efforts will be made at that time.

• Sun is good; high levels of shade make it difficult for the seedlings to become established.
• Plants near competing growth need a lot of TLC.
• Highest success rates are from sycamore, ninebark, and spicebush.
• Black Walnut trees in the neighborhood are the ‘kiss of death’ – they produce a compound in their roots that kills surrounding trees.

Online and On the Trails

by Sarah M. White

When Friends of Webster Trails was founded in 1997, the Internet as we know it was just a few years old, with dial-up access limiting how, and how much, information could be gained.

What was once a novelty is now a necessity.

In the last year, Friends has made getting information to its members and the broader community a priority with an “all of the above” strategy: the updated website, a more active Facebook page, frequent blog posts, the newsletter, and membership email blasts. However you choose to get your information, we want to make sure you have what you need to use the trails, participate in events, and support Friends.

Nearly 900 people access the FWT website each week, with most of the traffic going to the trails pages. Facebook has a similar reach, with more than 1,100 followers on the page, and the most popular posts generating dozens of interactions.

Those numbers show that we’ve made progress, but we think it’s just a start.

Just 0.5 percent of trail users are members of FWT, so we’d like to turn more clicks into members. You can help by sharing Facebook posts with your networks and telling others about the best bargain in town: A membership in Friends of Webster Trails. The $10 individual membership supports the trails all year, and you can give a membership as a gift in the upcoming holiday season.

Friends is thankful for each and every member, and we hope to see you online and on the trails.

More Birding in FMCP

by Dennis Kuhn

In the spring newsletter I shared a bit of news about birding at FMCP. A few weeks after I wrote that article John Boettcher, the FWT Newsletter editor, informed me of a group hike sponsored by the Rochester Birding Association. The hike was to be held on Sunday, April 24, 2024. John suggested that I join the hike to enrich my knowledge of the birds that use the preserve during the spring migration season.

I decided to join the group which was led by Christina Hoh and included ten other birding enthusiasts. What a great day! In three hours and eight minutes we positively identified 42 species including an American Kestrel that I spotted from the parking lot. I had a great time and was impressed by the participants who shared their knowledge of the birds we saw on the blue trail and part of the red trail including the Salt Creek overlook.  One participant offered me a pair of binoculars, which greatly enhanced the experience.

On the way back to the parking lot I got a phone call from a friend inviting me to go on a fishing excursion on Lake Ontario. He assured me that we would catch lots of big salmon and brown trout. I kindly declined because I was having lots of fun with very nice people who were enjoying Four Mile Creek Preserve in a way that I had not imagined.

FWT Leadership

The Friends of Webster Trails newsletter is published each Spring and Fall 

Editor: John Boettcher 

Send any submissions, questions or corrections to:  john2w3b@gmail.com 585-671-9639

510 Lake Road Webster NY  14580