Mount Greylock Opens 2015 Season On May 16
 Alec Gillman, park supervisor, briefed the Mount Greylock Advisory Council on an array of projects happening on the mountain this spring. |
Park Supervisor Alec Gillman said there is still snow and ice on the road so the managers of Bascom Lodge are behind on preparing for the season. He hopes the snow and ice will melt this soon to give a week or so to prepare for the season.
This spring, the Department of Conservation and Recreation will have a number of projects to maintain the state reservation but, DCR is going to have fewer employees to do it.
As part of Gov. Charlie Baker's plan to reduce state employees to close a budget gap, two workers at Mount Greylock will retire; that is oupled with a position that went unfilled for the last couple of years. After hearing about the loss of staff on Thursday, the Mount Greylock Advisory Council decided to send DCR leaders a letter opposing the cuts.
Some of the projects set to take place this spring include installing new vehicle gates at Jones' Nose, treatment of roadside invasive species, and possibly the building of ramps to make some campsites accessible to wheelchairs. Gillman said the reservation won a grant from DCR too look into the access from Sperry Road to the campground, which may create the first backpacking facility to be handicapped accessible.
The campgrounds have already been filling up with backpackers, Gillman said. The reservation system for the sites starts on May 21.
The reservation also got a jump start on maintaining the trail system with a park serve day on April 25. Gillman said five people made tremendous progress is fixing up the trail system.
The winter also led to damage at the summit but not because of ice but because of humans.
"The summit area sustained some minor snowmobile damage to the stonewalls despite regulatory signage we put up," Gillman said.
The War Memorial Tower also was damaged by snowmobiles. The lawn, the Bascom Lodge garden, and a sign were damaged as well. DCR's Trails Coordinator Becky Barnes said officials struggle every winter in keeping snowmobiles off of the summit.
"I can be up there physically and people will drive right by me, right by the signs and go right up. They want to get to overlook and they don't want to get off their sled," Barnes said.
The snowmobiles damage the habitats of endangered species that grow on the summit, she said, and there is a chance new interactive signs could be totally destroyed by the studs in the snowmobiles.
"They actually go up the stairs and ride around the tower. They scrape the tower. And we just installed brand-new interpretive panels up there we were concerned about. Sometimes the snow drifts and you may not even know the panels are there," Barnes said.
That isn't the only area facing damage from humans. The Notch Road gate parking lot attracts "miscreant behavior," Gillman said. Signs there were spray painted and trash was left behind from parties.
"It is the end of the road. It is very secluded," he said.
For both places, Gillman and Barnes are asking anyone who sees such a thing to report it so the police can be called.
Tags: Mount Greylock, parks & rec, snowmobiles,
