MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. - An intrepid troupe of Mount Kisco volunteers is hoping to get back on track with their maintenance of local nature trails.
Former village historian and self-professed “tree hugger” Harold “Harry” McCartney voiced that wish at the Village Board’s Dec. 15 meeting after making a comprehensive presentation on the bigger picture.
The volunteers are champing the bit to restore and/or expand the five-trail system – think Early Settlement, Peninsula/Wetlands, Kisco Mountain, etc. – within the village.
There are about 17 more acres at the Peninsula/Wetlands Trail that could be utilized, McCartney estimated.
However, they can’t do that without the village’s approval.
They’ve also been diligently working on a trails system that connects Leonard Park and the Marsh Sanctuary in Mount Kisco, the Westmoreland Sanctuary in Bedford, the Arthur W. Butler Memorial Sanctuary in Mount Kisco, the Eugene Agnes Meyer Nature Preserve in North Castle, the Burden Preserve in New Castle, and Merestead, a private estate in Mount Kisco that’s now a county park.
McCartney is a member of the Mount Kisco Historical Society, a member of the Merestead Conservancy’s board of directors, and – once again -- the lead for the Mount Kisco-Northern Westchester History-Nature Trail Team.
He’s had also served on the village’s Conservation Advisory Council and Tree Preservation Board but had resigned – also as trail team lead -- due to years of frustration in trying to obtain village support to upgrade and maintain the nature trails.
The team’s goals have included connecting and protecting green spaces, designing self-guided walks, educating the public about local history, leading guided tours, making presentations, archiving important objects, and improving the physical and mental well-being of all.
That’s also included constant caring for the trails to ensure that they remain safe and accessible.
That last part came to a grinding halt in 2023 when the team was informed by Village Manager Ed Brancati via email that it was no longer to work on any village property, including conservation areas.
That meant no removal of invasive plants or diseased trees, no picking up of trash or debris, no pulling of weeds, and no spreading of woodchips.
Until further notice, that type of work was to be done solely by “full-time, paid employees” of the village – namely members of the Department of Public Works – and the monitoring, by local police.
No exact reason was given for the change. However, Brancati later said publicly that he’d been forced to take action because there were things happening that he hadn’t been told about ahead of time and that he didn’t directly approve.
While not specifying what those things were, Brancati noted that he appreciated that the volunteers had “good intentions.” He further explained that he had called the timeout in order to make sure that everyone was on the same page.
In the ensuing two years, folks have complained that some of the trails – most notably the Peninsula/Wetlands Trail off Leito Drive in Mount Kisco – have become overgrown and virtually inaccessible in the absence of the trail team’s constant care.
The move also impacted interrelated entities such as the Conservation Advisory Council and the Mount Kisco Historical Society.
The village subsequently restored the CAC’s permission to do conservation work in Leonard Park and Flewellyn Park and along village streams, but not on the trails themselves.
Thankfully, there wasn’t any ban on the guided walks or programs such as the very popular annual release into the Kisco River of trout fingerlings raised by local students.
“We want to come back and get our team going again. We had plans two years ago to expand our trails,” McCartney said at the December meeting, inviting village officials to participate.
As always, the team was looking for more young folks to volunteer, he added.
Benefits of Connectivity
A resident of Mount Kisco for 50 years, McCartney still has a boyish enthusiasm for the area’s natural resources and history in general and the trail system in particular, both of which he says are “totally unique.”
Some of the benefits of using the 25 miles of the interconnected trail system include learning about everything from the indigenous peoples and colonial settlers to the Revolutionary War, industrialization, and the so-called “Gilded Age,” he said.
Docents might also throw in a few fascinating facts about dramatic outcroppings, glacial boulders, and a diverse ecosystem comprised of wetlands, forests, meadows, ponds, and streams.
“It really is an outdoor classroom,” McCartney said, also pointing to the mental and physical benefits of “walking, jogging, hiking, strolling, race runs, just meandering, and passively forest bathing.”
(“Forest bathing,” or shinrin-yoku, is the Japanese practice of mindfully immersing yourself in a forest atmosphere using all five senses to de-stress and reconnect with nature. It supposedly lowers one’s cortisol levels and blood pressure.)
“You’re centered and relaxed,” McCarthy explained, joking that he’s even taught people how to “properly hug a tree.”
Trail connectivity not only boosts the sense of community between folks in Mount Kisco, Bedford, New Castle, and North Castle, it creates economic opportunities, according to the presentation.
“Real estate values go up when you have parks and trails” and commercial activity increases, McCartney said.
Mount Kisco is very walkable, but that’s not just because of its sidewalks, it’s also because the different trails are so reachable. But they can’t be used unless properly maintained, team members have pointed out.
Saying he’s still finding new places to explore, McCartney praised Westchester County’s parks system, calling it “off the charts.”
“We live in a Never-Never Land of beauty when it comes to Mother Nature, trails, and access to the outside,” he said.
Next Steps
Appearing to be in agreement that the time has come for the trail team to be allowed back in the saddle, Trustee Tom Luzio told McCartney at the meeting:
“If we got off the track in terms of maintenance then it’s my goal to simply get together and continue to communicate and put up guardrails where we need to and let the volunteers go at it if we can.”
Trustee Tammy Brown indicated that she was also “interested in getting the trails team back up and running.”
Luzio asked McCartney to send the Village Board “a little bit of a blueprint” so a work session on the subject could be scheduled.
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