Summit Stewards
Alpine trail management, training, education and volunteering
White Mountain Summit Stewards
Franconia Ridge
Franconia Fridge is one of the most traveled sections of the Appalachian Trail. It is possible to have 800-1000 hikers and runners surging across a 1.8 mile section of trail on a sunny summer or fall weekend day. Over 40,000 visitors traverse the Franconia Ridge between late May to early October. The Franconia Ridge is also home to the rare northeast alpine zone, a fragile biotic community that is under threat from hikers and runners. By the 2010s, despite the best efforts of volunteer Alpine Stewards on weekends and a dedicated trail adopter, many alpine plants adjacent to the trail were trampled or killed with soils compacted and eroded.
The problems on Franconia Ridge were serious enough to cause the USFS and its partners to form the Franconia Working Group (FRWG) in 2016 with the objective of developing a Visitor Use Management Plan (VUM) to address both the environmental and social impact of the high number of visitors to Franconia Ridge.
One of the most consequential recommendations from the working group was a proposal to field “summit stewards” as full-time as possible May through October. In 2018, in partnership with the USFS, Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC), and the Waterman Fund, Pan American Trails/WTN Americas fielded two college interns as summit stewards. Since 2018, we have established a Chief Summit Steward position and hire as many stewards as we have funding for—our goal is to eventually have 4 stewards for Franconia Ridge so we can rotate people on and off trail and have at least 2 stewards working at a time 7 days a week. We also continue to offer a limited number of paid college internships, and in partnership with Binghamton University, offer a 4 credit summer semester program that includes summit steward field work on Franconia Ridge
Paid summit stewards are trained in integrated trail management, tailored to the specific needs of the northeast alpine zone. Integrated trail management combines trail restoration, trail maintenance, and information and education. They also assist with environmental monitoring and research. This complements and the work of the AMC’s volunteer Alpine Stewards who focus in education and information, and the volunteer AMC’s trail adopter, who is responsible for basic maintenance.
The results have been been transformative, with the alpine zone showing significant signs of recovery.
Crawford Path
The Crawford Path, the oldest continuously maintained recreational trail in the United States (since 1819), shares an alpine “topology” with Franconia Ridge: it includes a “ribbon” of alpine zone. It also includes sections of the Appalachian Trail and there are more and more visitors every year and it is showing the same signs of damage to the alpine zone. Because of these similarities, the USFS and Pan American Trails/WTN Americas would like to see a similar summit steward program on the Crawford Path.
A this point use do not have the funding for this, but do make annual field trips to the Crawford Path for trail restoration, maintenance and to post educational signage.
Welch and Dickey Mountains
The sub-alpine ledges on Welch Mountain is home to the first summit stewards in the White Mountains, a program pioneered by the Sandwich Conservational Association (SRCA) in 1988. In 1990 SRCA partnered with Antioch New England Graduate School to provide research opportunities on the Welch ledges, and so Welch and Dickey came what the Laura and Gut Waterman described as in Backwoods Ethics as, “…a hotbed of interesting experimental approaches to onsite education and public involvement.”
SRCA completed is primary mission in 1998 and since then summit stewardship on Welch and Dickey has waxed and wained. * In 2023 we again began to provide limited summit steward coverage and volunteer days. This will continue as we have funding and volunteer interest.
* The Welch and Dickey loop is maintained by a first generation community-based White Mountain trail club, the Waterville Valley Athletic and Improvement Association (WVAIA , established 1888), which does an exemplary job of keeping up the trail.
2024 Program and Partners
For the 2024 season we have funding for one Chief Summit Steward for Franconia Ridge and two 5-week internships associated with the Binghamton College Semester. Thank you to the Waterman Fund and USFS for funding the 2024 program and the Appalachian Mountain Club for providing space at the Liberty Spring Campsite. Binghamton University, State University of New York is our partner for the summer semester.
If you would like to support the 2024 Summit Steward program and help us hire more summit stewards offer more paid internships, we are accepting donations in memory of Josh Gillenson.
Opportunities
- Volunteering
- College Internships
- College Summer Semester
- Teaching and Research Fellowships
West End Trails Tenders (WETT)
Volunteering on Franconia Ridge since 1980
The West End Trail Tenders is a group of volunteers who work on trails on the west side of the White Mountains. This continues the tradition of the first Franconia Ridge trail adopters, Laura and Guy Waterman. As Laura describes WETT in Losing the Garden:
In 1980 we began taking care of the Franconia Ridge Trail —1.8 miles, all above treeline… Friends got interested, and several of them adopted adjacent trails. By the mid 1980s we were helping each other out on our trail sections and had dubbed ourselves the West End Trail Tenders… We formed a sturdy, dedicated force that appointed no officers, held no meetings, charged no dues, drafted no bylaws, hired no staff and built no club house.
We currently organize volunteers under the WETT moniker, on Franconia Ridge late May through early October, to assist summit stewards and the AMC adopter, and occasionally on Welch and Dickey Mountains.
Click on right to sign up for the June – September weekly WETT newsletter, Raven. Information on volunteering and Northeast Alpine Stewardship.
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Summer Semester
July 11 – August 12, 2024
In partnership with Binghamton University in New York, we offer a 5-week, 4 credit academic field course. The curriculum includes an environmental history of northeast recreational trails, wilderness ethics, fundamentals of recreation ecology, and a practicum in alpine trail management. The course also provides certification in Wilderness First Aid and Leave no Trace and a seminar series with international speakers (by Zoom).
Donate
You can donate directly to Franconia Ridge loop restoration in Franconia Notch State Park, or Alpine Trail management (summit stewards), or you can let us direct the funds to where we need it most.