Hi all,
For anyone planning a trip to Doodletown, Bear Mountain State Park this Spring, please be aware of the following: (1) On Saturday May 13 and Sunday May 14 the North Face Endurance Challenge foot race is being held at Doodletown. The race course takes runners up and back along the main trails with numerous events taking place throughout the day. Races will start at 5 AM and continue to 5 PM on both days. Up to approximately 1600 runners may be expected. Parking during the event is restricted to the Anthony Wayne Recreation Area with shuttle bus service to Doodletown. (I am guessing that non-event participants will not be allowed to park along Route 9W). Given that Doodletown is an IBA/BCA hosting several listed species (Cerulean Warbler, Whip-poor-will, Timber Rattlesnake, among others), it certainly seems imprudent to hold this event during such a critical time period. While it appears to be too late to prevent the race this year (objections have already been raised to PIPC), hopefully we can prevent or schedule it for a less critical time period in the future. (2) On Sunday May 21 (the following weekend!), the Gran Fondo New York bike race is being held. A portion of the course follows Route 9W below Doodletown. It is likely that, as last year, Route 9w will be closed for much of the day. This closes all parking and thereby, for all practical purposes, denies access to Doodletown during the period of road closure. Alan Wells -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --