From the Register Star, December 20, 2010
Dogs of all sorts enjoyed the First Annual Winter Wag held at Roeliff Jansen Park Sunday, which offered amenities for canines and humans alike. The dog-friendly park will remain open during the winter, but will not be plowed. People with dogs on leashes are always allowed to use the park's paths. (John Mason/Hudson-Catskill Newspapers) photo by Anna Werther
Dogs run the park at First Annual Winter Wag
By John Mason
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
Published:Monday, December 20, 2010 2:11 AM EST
COPAKE/HILLSDALE -Dogs of all kinds flooded into Upper Copake Saturday for what looks to become an annual sine qua non for canines in the know: The First Annual Winter Wag.
These dogs’ miniature Warren Street was a bit shorter, measuring about 100 yards long at most, but no less confined, about 15 to 20 feet wide, with high fencing on either side.
“The dogs had a blast,” organizer Maj Kalfus said. Greyhounds, standard poodles, cockapoos, labradoodles and rescue dogs met and romped and did their canine things in a space built especially with their needs in mind.
There were dog biscuits to please a discerning palate, as well as donuts, coffee and hot chocolate for the less finicky.
On the human agenda was whether the park would remain open during the cold months. A compromise was reached: It would be open as long as the gates could swing open. But it would not be plowed. In addition, people with dogs on leashes are always allowed to use the paths in the Roeliff Jansen Park.
The park is home to the Old Route 22 Dog Run. This section of the park became available to dog lovers because no one else wanted it: It was covered with asphalt from its former identity as Old Route 22.
Kalfus said when she first proposed a dog run, the response was, ‘Why do we need a dog run when we have all this open space?’
“A lot of dogs don’t become socialized,” she said. “They’re overprotected, they don’t have company. A lot of weekenders don’t have enclosed areas at their houses — their dogs aren’t used to staying in a safe area.”
“It’s a nice, social thing to do,” Kalfus said. “This was an area that wasn’t being used because it had asphalt under it.”
The park was very supportive of the new endeavor, she said — “Caroline Stewart, the head of the board, put up a great effort to help it get built.” Supervisor Art Baer was also a great supporter.
Town Councilman Carmen Barbato broke up the asphalt, and volunteers planted and seeded the land, and trimmed trees along the sides to make room for the fences. The dog run opened in July.
“Everything is dog-friendly,” Kalfus said. “There are always tennis balls here. There are chairs if people want to set up doggy dates. We’re open from sunrise to sunset, seven days a week.”
There’s a poop station with bags. Someone has been hired to mow the grass.
“The community is starting to build,” Kalfus said. “People are finding each other. Now with the library across the street, more people are noticing and seeing what’s going on.”
Bone-shaped plaques line the fence, each bearing the name of a dog, or his or her human, who saw fit to donate to the park’s fund.
“I hope to fill the whole park with bones,” Kalfus said.
There’s also a small area for those dogs who aren’t ready to tussle with the muscle. At the canine Halloween Party, it was used as a dog adoption area; and today it also doubled as the refreshment area.
To learn more about the dog run, go to www.roejanpark.org.
To reach reporter John Mason, call 518-828-1616, ext. 2266, or e-mailjmason@registerstar.com.
By John Mason
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
Published:Monday, December 20, 2010 2:11 AM EST
COPAKE/HILLSDALE -Dogs of all kinds flooded into Upper Copake Saturday for what looks to become an annual sine qua non for canines in the know: The First Annual Winter Wag.
These dogs’ miniature Warren Street was a bit shorter, measuring about 100 yards long at most, but no less confined, about 15 to 20 feet wide, with high fencing on either side.
“The dogs had a blast,” organizer Maj Kalfus said. Greyhounds, standard poodles, cockapoos, labradoodles and rescue dogs met and romped and did their canine things in a space built especially with their needs in mind.
There were dog biscuits to please a discerning palate, as well as donuts, coffee and hot chocolate for the less finicky.
On the human agenda was whether the park would remain open during the cold months. A compromise was reached: It would be open as long as the gates could swing open. But it would not be plowed. In addition, people with dogs on leashes are always allowed to use the paths in the Roeliff Jansen Park.
The park is home to the Old Route 22 Dog Run. This section of the park became available to dog lovers because no one else wanted it: It was covered with asphalt from its former identity as Old Route 22.
Kalfus said when she first proposed a dog run, the response was, ‘Why do we need a dog run when we have all this open space?’
“A lot of dogs don’t become socialized,” she said. “They’re overprotected, they don’t have company. A lot of weekenders don’t have enclosed areas at their houses — their dogs aren’t used to staying in a safe area.”
“It’s a nice, social thing to do,” Kalfus said. “This was an area that wasn’t being used because it had asphalt under it.”
The park was very supportive of the new endeavor, she said — “Caroline Stewart, the head of the board, put up a great effort to help it get built.” Supervisor Art Baer was also a great supporter.
Town Councilman Carmen Barbato broke up the asphalt, and volunteers planted and seeded the land, and trimmed trees along the sides to make room for the fences. The dog run opened in July.
“Everything is dog-friendly,” Kalfus said. “There are always tennis balls here. There are chairs if people want to set up doggy dates. We’re open from sunrise to sunset, seven days a week.”
There’s a poop station with bags. Someone has been hired to mow the grass.
“The community is starting to build,” Kalfus said. “People are finding each other. Now with the library across the street, more people are noticing and seeing what’s going on.”
Bone-shaped plaques line the fence, each bearing the name of a dog, or his or her human, who saw fit to donate to the park’s fund.
“I hope to fill the whole park with bones,” Kalfus said.
There’s also a small area for those dogs who aren’t ready to tussle with the muscle. At the canine Halloween Party, it was used as a dog adoption area; and today it also doubled as the refreshment area.
To learn more about the dog run, go to www.roejanpark.org.
To reach reporter John Mason, call 518-828-1616, ext. 2266, or e-mailjmason@registerstar.com.
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From the Register Star, August 31, 2010
PHOTOS: Stream creatures
Published:Tuesday, August 31, 2010 2:13 AM EDT
Outdoor educator Fran Martino conducted a course called “Creatures in the Stream” at the Roeliff Jansen Park in Copake just south of Hillsdale recently. A group of about 15 children and adults waded into the Roeliff Jansen Kill equipped with little nets to catch the swimming insects and plastic spoons and brushes to dislodge the clinging insects from rocks and wood. In addition to minnows and crayfish, they captured stoneflies, water pennies, midges, dragonfly nymphs and assorted other species. The diversity of the creatures they would find, according to Martino, would indicate the health of the stream. Upcoming events hosted by Martino include a workshop about primitive shelter building on Sept. 12, a harvest festival on Oct. 2, and a full moon Coyote Howl Fest on Oct. 23.
Published:Tuesday, August 31, 2010 2:13 AM EDT
Outdoor educator Fran Martino conducted a course called “Creatures in the Stream” at the Roeliff Jansen Park in Copake just south of Hillsdale recently. A group of about 15 children and adults waded into the Roeliff Jansen Kill equipped with little nets to catch the swimming insects and plastic spoons and brushes to dislodge the clinging insects from rocks and wood. In addition to minnows and crayfish, they captured stoneflies, water pennies, midges, dragonfly nymphs and assorted other species. The diversity of the creatures they would find, according to Martino, would indicate the health of the stream. Upcoming events hosted by Martino include a workshop about primitive shelter building on Sept. 12, a harvest festival on Oct. 2, and a full moon Coyote Howl Fest on Oct. 23.
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From The Register Star, August 30, 2010
Educator leads butterfly program at Roe Jan Park
By John Mason
Hudson-Catskill NewspapersPublished:Monday, August 30, 2010 2:12 AM EDT
Hudson-Catskill NewspapersPublished:Monday, August 30, 2010 2:12 AM EDT
COPAKE — Southern Columbia County’s newest park for humans, the Roe Jan Park, is also a favorite playground for a world-renowned beauty and long-distance traveler, the monarch butterfly. The monarchs are drawn to the park because of its milkweed, where the butterflies love to lay their eggs that will soon develop into caterpillars that not long after that become monarchs.
Columbia Land Conservancy Education Coordinator Jennifer Brinker said the monarchs began leaving on their great annual trek southward two weeks ago. The greatest number will be leaving about Sept. 11. They fly all the way to Mexico, about 2,000 miles, and return again in the spring.
How is this possible? To understand it, there is a nationwide tagging program. A tiny seal with an 800-number and a website address is gently placed on one wing of the butterfly, who is then returned to the elements.
Every year, Brinker, with help of local children and their parents, tags and releases about 40 monarchs as part of this program. On Sunday at Roe Jan Park, she led such an event. And she told participants about a great success the CLC program has had.
“On Aug. 29, 2008, we released LBW660 in Canaan,” she said. “He flew to Mexico and was found March 3, 2009 by a scientist.” That means LBW660 flew 2,000 miles. Brinker said she knows people who have participated in the program for 10 to 15 years and never heard back about any of their butterflies.
Monarchs are strong, but a trip like this can take it out of them. After a trip to Mexico, a monarch could be missing 25 percent of a wing, she said.
A butterfly has four wings, as well as antennae to smell with and feet to help with taste. A long tongue can be unrolled when the monarch wants to drink from a flower.
After relaxing in Mexico with millions of their peers for the winter, they’ll begin the journey back north in March or April.
“The amazing thing is they start coming back when the milkweed is starting to come up,” Brinker said. Some will stop at milkweed in the southern U.S.; each generation will go farther north.
“How do the fourth and fifth generations know where to go, when to go?” she asked. If you release a Maine butterfly in North Dakota, they’ll fly due south a day or so, then adjust to go in the right direction, she said.
And why do butterflies go south at this time? It’s not a depleted food source, she said. The Roe Jan Park has plenty of goldenrods and asters, flowers that are loved by monarchs. Whatever the reason, Brinker starts tagging them early, about Aug. 15.
Usually, the monarchs can expect warm weather for the winter, but on Feb. 2, a huge storm with snow, ice, rainstorms and flash floods killed off about 50 percent of them, she said.
However, she said, “they’re making up for it. We have 12 chrysalises in here,” pointing to a screened box holding foliage, caterpillars and cocoons.
“They’re making a comeback,” she said. “Maybe they know their population is down, so they’re overproducing.”
To reach reporter John Mason, call 518-828-1616, ext. 2266, or e-mailjmason@registerstar.com.
please click on each photo for caption.
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From The Chatham Press, October 2009
As part of an ongoing series, Thorunn Kristjansdottir examines the trails of Columbia County. In this article, she describes her 10 favorites, and the Roe Jan Park of Hillsdale was one of them!! Here's what she had to say about us:
"Located half a mile south of the Town of Hillsdale, on the left on Route 22, this park has it all!!
According to the park's website, Roe Jan Park is not a traditional state park, so it does not have state funds for staffing. Volunteers run the park. The property consists of 300.7 acres, split by Route 22, with the east side comprising 163.8 acres and the west side with 136.9 acres. While the community plan will clarify the ultimate use patterns of the park, it is widely expected that the east side will be the site of the majority of the more intensive park activities, with the west side remaining a more passive recreational area over time. In addition, the west side also abuts the Harlem Valley Rail Trail. The park's website is chock full of information. The sign for the park is by the road, Odyssey Farm North. About halfway up the farm road is Overlook Trail, which goes to the top of a hill, giving you views north to Hillsdale and beyond. The trail loops back to the parking lot, or you can also turn in the other direction and go on the Picnic Trail. The park abuts the Roe Jan Kill, a beautifully flowing, gravelly stream. You can choose two trails to the kill."
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"Located half a mile south of the Town of Hillsdale, on the left on Route 22, this park has it all!!
According to the park's website, Roe Jan Park is not a traditional state park, so it does not have state funds for staffing. Volunteers run the park. The property consists of 300.7 acres, split by Route 22, with the east side comprising 163.8 acres and the west side with 136.9 acres. While the community plan will clarify the ultimate use patterns of the park, it is widely expected that the east side will be the site of the majority of the more intensive park activities, with the west side remaining a more passive recreational area over time. In addition, the west side also abuts the Harlem Valley Rail Trail. The park's website is chock full of information. The sign for the park is by the road, Odyssey Farm North. About halfway up the farm road is Overlook Trail, which goes to the top of a hill, giving you views north to Hillsdale and beyond. The trail loops back to the parking lot, or you can also turn in the other direction and go on the Picnic Trail. The park abuts the Roe Jan Kill, a beautifully flowing, gravelly stream. You can choose two trails to the kill."
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From the Hudson River Almanac, Feb. 1-7, 2010
HUDSON RIVER ALMANAC
February 1 - 7, 2010
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>
This was a week of uncommon bird sightings: a dovekie (a small auk), an orange-crowned warbler, a red-headed woodpecker, and a yellow-headed blackbird. The context of winter, with its limited diversity of bird life, makes such finds seem more special.
2/4 - Roeliff Jansen's Kill, HRM 111: If you follow this major tributary of the Hudson River from its mouth near Linlithgo, it wanders inland to the Roe Jan Park in Hillsdale, Columbia County, where it meanders behind the Woodland Stream Trail. It was there that I spotted four common mergansers tucked in seeking refuge from the wind. According to historian James Polk, Roeliff Jansen was a sometime sailor, sometime farmer, and sometime government official.
- Fran Martino
"HRM" refers to the number of miles up the Hudson from the southern tip of Manhattan)
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February 1 - 7, 2010
Compiled by Tom Lake, Hudson River Estuary Program Naturalist
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
<<<<< OVERVIEW >>>>>
This was a week of uncommon bird sightings: a dovekie (a small auk), an orange-crowned warbler, a red-headed woodpecker, and a yellow-headed blackbird. The context of winter, with its limited diversity of bird life, makes such finds seem more special.
2/4 - Roeliff Jansen's Kill, HRM 111: If you follow this major tributary of the Hudson River from its mouth near Linlithgo, it wanders inland to the Roe Jan Park in Hillsdale, Columbia County, where it meanders behind the Woodland Stream Trail. It was there that I spotted four common mergansers tucked in seeking refuge from the wind. According to historian James Polk, Roeliff Jansen was a sometime sailor, sometime farmer, and sometime government official.
- Fran Martino
"HRM" refers to the number of miles up the Hudson from the southern tip of Manhattan)
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From The Chatham Press, July 2009
In this ongoing series, Thorunn Kristjandottir examines the trails in our neck of the woods. This month's hike was to the brand new state park in Hillsdale.
In my opinion, this park has it all!...
Let me tell you about my experience at the park! This is my stomping ground. I mean Taconic Hills, my alma mater, is a stone's throw away from this park. I've driven by the park countless times, but never stopped in until on this particular Sunday afternoon.
The sign for the park is by the road, and you'll see a big old dairy barn, a silo and the old farmhouse. This used to be part of the former Odyssey Farm...When I was growing up, and when I attended Taconic Hills' Roe Jan building, the Odyssey farms were the biggest milk farms around-or so I remember anyway.
I met my friend Morgan in the parking lot. We checked out the kiosk where there's information and a trail map. We walked up the old farm road, past two of the park's buildings, and we encountered another hiker with a nice little dog. I stopped there to admire the alfalfa which was growing on both sides of the farm road.
About halfway up the farm road we veered right, heading up the Overlook Trail, which goes to the top of a hill, giving you views north to Hillsdale and beyond. The trail loops back to the parking lot, or you can also turn the other direction and go on the Picnic Trail. Morgan and I looped back to the parking lot and headed up the old farm road again. This time we ran into some bikers.
When we almost reached the end of the old farm road, we took a left, heading down to the Roe Jan Kill, a beautifully flowing, gravelly stream. You can choose two trails to the Kill. I opted for the forest trail. I initially said that this park has it all. Reason? It's got some neat trails, activities, buildings, views, alfalfa, forests, and a stream! It is so peaceful and serene in the park, that one just forgets time and space.
When Morgan and I reached the Kill she waded in, just to check it out. There is no swimming allowed, however. She then said,
"Wow! It's so nice here," she exclaimed.
"I wouldn't mind just coming here, sitting on the island in the middle of the stream for a whole day to just get away from it all."
In my opinion, this park has it all!...
Let me tell you about my experience at the park! This is my stomping ground. I mean Taconic Hills, my alma mater, is a stone's throw away from this park. I've driven by the park countless times, but never stopped in until on this particular Sunday afternoon.
The sign for the park is by the road, and you'll see a big old dairy barn, a silo and the old farmhouse. This used to be part of the former Odyssey Farm...When I was growing up, and when I attended Taconic Hills' Roe Jan building, the Odyssey farms were the biggest milk farms around-or so I remember anyway.
I met my friend Morgan in the parking lot. We checked out the kiosk where there's information and a trail map. We walked up the old farm road, past two of the park's buildings, and we encountered another hiker with a nice little dog. I stopped there to admire the alfalfa which was growing on both sides of the farm road.
About halfway up the farm road we veered right, heading up the Overlook Trail, which goes to the top of a hill, giving you views north to Hillsdale and beyond. The trail loops back to the parking lot, or you can also turn the other direction and go on the Picnic Trail. Morgan and I looped back to the parking lot and headed up the old farm road again. This time we ran into some bikers.
When we almost reached the end of the old farm road, we took a left, heading down to the Roe Jan Kill, a beautifully flowing, gravelly stream. You can choose two trails to the Kill. I opted for the forest trail. I initially said that this park has it all. Reason? It's got some neat trails, activities, buildings, views, alfalfa, forests, and a stream! It is so peaceful and serene in the park, that one just forgets time and space.
When Morgan and I reached the Kill she waded in, just to check it out. There is no swimming allowed, however. She then said,
"Wow! It's so nice here," she exclaimed.
"I wouldn't mind just coming here, sitting on the island in the middle of the stream for a whole day to just get away from it all."
