Weekend Fun
Headed out on the trails this weekend? Before you do, check out this how-to video created by our friends at Orbitist.com. Our newly updated “Nature at Your Fingertips” cell phone tour is packed with many new features and this tutorial shows you how to take advantage of them. So whether you are using motor power or human power to get around this weekend, give yourself a break at one of our 30 stops and discover the many stories Chautauqua County has to...
Read MoreSigns Are Going Up!
We are one month and counting until the winter trails officially open for snowmobile, ski and snowshoe activities to begin! Our “Nature at Your Fingertips” cell phone tour signs are in the process of being erected at 30 different locations and the tour itself is getting a major face-lift! With Orbitist providing the new platform, our tour will be easier to use and I think a lot more fun! I can’t wait to tell you more about this in the coming weeks as we continue to improve the tour, so stay tuned! Elyse Henshaw Conservation Technician
Read MoreSign Removal
Spring has seemingly sprung, and that means we are wrapping up our winter projects and beginning to plan for the upcoming summer field season. With the conclusion of winter, our “Nature at Your Fingertips” winter trails cell phone tour signs are coming down off the trail and will be stored away until fall. We’ll be posting more updates soon on how this year’s tour went and what cell phones tours will be going up elsewhere in our area.
Read MoreNeed Some Info?
Scattered around the county snowmobile and multipurpose trails are these info shacks, some of which have our “Nature at Your Fingertips” winter trails cell phone tour signs attached to them. This weekend while you are enjoying the expansive network of trails Chautauqua County has to offer, take a moment to look for these little blue signs as they will provide some fascinating information about our area! Elyse Henshaw Conservation Technician
Read More“Leaving Only Footsteps? Think Again”
Here’s an interesting opinion piece in the New York Times that details how even passive recreation can have an unexpectedly high impact on wildlife. These are all issues we as scientists have dealt with at one time or another, from how placement of trails in preserves is vital to protect certain species and the fact they create unsuitable edge habitat, how passive recreation activities like hiking can have negative impacts in the same way something like snowmobiling could (or more, as they can occur in all seasons and not just winter), and that a day at the beach disrupts birds like...
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