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Please note: Laurentian Chapter outings follow Adk’s covid-19 guidelines.

Sun, Jan 26: Outdoors-Indoors - Mapping the purple menace: Investigating an invasive plant in Northern New York 7:00 p.m., in the Potsdam Civic Center Community Room. Dr. Jess Pearson. Purple loosestrife is beautiful, but this invasive species has also begun a march to replace native vegetation along roadsides and in wetlands. This becomes a threat to both local and transient wildlife, particularly waterfowl that frequently use our wetlands on their migrations. A well-studied biological control limits this invasion: An introduced leaf-eating beetle that feeds exclusively on purple loosestrife. While purple loosestrife is listed by the NYS DEC as a regulated and prohibited plant, until 2017 it had not been well studied or documented within the St. Lawrence Valley ecosystem. Understanding new mapping techniques to monitor the spread and investigate targets for intervention is crucial in limiting the effects of this invasion. Dr. Pearson will talk about how she’s been mapping this invasion, growing beetles, and studying removal techniques.

Thu, Jan 30: Weekly Walk, Red Sandstone Access Roads 7:30 a.m. We will walk the dirtaccess roads for approximately 2 miles, 1 hour round trip. If the roads are icy, traction devices such as microspikes are recommended. Meet at the Red Sandstone trailhead, north entrance parking lot off Back Hannawa Road (CR59) between Potsdam and Hannawa Falls. From Potsdam, at the intersection ofRt. 11 and Clarkson Ave (CR59), drive south for 2.5 miles. The access road is on the left just past Sweeney Road. A brown “trail parking” sign marks the entrance. Leaders for each week will vary. Contact Marianne Hebert, hebertm@potsdam.edu or 315-265-0756. Level C.

Sun, Feb 2: West Parishville Walk and Talk Depending on conditions we will snowshoe or walk the trails in the woods behind our cabin on Pumpkin Hill Rd. in West Parishville. Total distance is about 2 miles. Afterwards, we will warm up in the cabin. This outing is limited to 10 people. Call ahead to join and to get details: David Trithart, 315-244-8875. Level C.

Thu, Feb 6: Weekly Walk, Red Sandstone Access Roads 7:30 a.m. We will walk the dirt access roads for approximately 2 miles, 1 hour round trip. If the roads are icy, traction devices such as microspikes are recommended. Meet at the Red Sandstone trailhead, north entrance parking lot off Back Hannawa Road (CR59) between Potsdam and Hannawa Falls. From Potsdam, at the intersection of Rt. 11 and Clarkson Ave (CR59), drive south for 2.5 miles. The access road is on the left just past Sweeney Road. A brown “trail parking” sign marks the entrance. Leaders for each week will vary. Contact Marianne Hebert, hebertm@potsdam.edu, 315-265-0756. Level C.

More Laurentian Chapter events

All-Club Outing Calendar listing all outings from all chapters. If our chapter isn’t going there soon, another chapter may be.

Indian Creek Nature Center (Nov 16, 2024)
Glorious sunshine tamed the cool weather as temperatures climbed above 50F. We tromped through crunc ...

Peavine Swamp Trail (Nov 9, 2024)
Seven of us walked up the Peavine Swamp trail on a beautiful clear morning. An advance party scoute ...

Keewaydin State Park Hike (Oct 26, 2024)
Five of us had a lovely day exploring the trails at Keewaydin State Park along the St. Lawrence Rive ...

Trail Work on Red Sandstone Trail (Oct 20, 2024)
College students from Clarkson and SUNY Potsdam joined Jeff Miller and Blair Madore for an afternoon ...

Visit our Backtracks page for complete trip reports and photos.