Trail & Town Alliance
of Harpers Ferry & Bolivar

Hi neighbors,

Hope to see you at our next meeting!

☕ Our June meeting

When: Monday, June 15 at 5pm

Where: Snallygaster's, at 1102 Washington St. in Bolivar

Here's what else is happening around town...

🫶 May 17 Volunteer Workday was a Palooza!

A huge thank you to the 6 amazing volunteers who joined the Trail & Town Alliance for our multi-tasking volunteer work palooza on Sunday, May 17! Together, we spent 1.5 high-impact hours giving our local trails some much-needed love:

🚷 Trail Closures: We successfully closed The Walls Trail (gray) section south of the Woodpecker Trail (red) that connected to Cedar Hill Cemetery and ran adjacent to the largest of the historic walls. This was ordered to be closed by the WVDNR to decrease potential impacts to the adjacent historical wall. We also blocked off a nearby unapproved "people's choice" shortcut to help protect the environment and stop unnecessary erosion. However, we did find that someone reopened both of these closures the next day and had to return to reclose the trail. Reminder that if you find that a trail had been closed, it was closed for a reason.

🍾 Trash Cleanup: Our team cleared 4 boxes of glass out of a dump area nearby a trail. The glass is so dense that nothing else was able to grow there!

🌿 Invasive Species Control: We pulled and bagged 4 bags of invasive garlic mustard to control their spread and protect our native species. For more info about invasive plants and the role they play in disrupting the balance of the ecology of our native flora and fauna, visit the WVDNR Invasive Plant Species List.

🌿 Cool Nature Find: Tucked into a heavy patch of invasive Japanese stiltgrass, Laurie Potteiger spotted some highly resilient, native Bottlebrush grass (Elymus hystrix) successfully holding its ground! It was also later noticed elsewhere along the trails nearby too. It was a beautiful reminder of exactly why our hands-on trail stewardship matters so much.

🌿 Upcoming Trails Stewardship Workday on June 13

​Join the Trail & Town Alliance of Harpers Ferry & Bolivar for a volunteer trail stewardship workday! We will be focusing on the vegetation 🌿 that will be quickly growing on the trails this time of year. We will have a short talk on non-native invasive (NNI) vegetation management followed with the opportunity to pull NNI or do string trimming. Additionally, there is glass debris identified in the area for volunteers particularly motivated to do trash cleanup 🍾.

When: Sunday June 13 at 8:00 AM. Expect an hour, but there will be enough work to stay longer for those interested.

Where: Gravel parking lot at Old Furnace​

Bring: Comfortable shoes - Gloves (we’ll provide some too) - Long pants - Trash bags (we’ll provide some too) - Boxes or other disposable containers for disposing of glass - Water bottle - String trimmer if you have one - Your neighbors!

💻 Woodpecker Woods Webpage Updated!

We have completely refreshed the Trail & Town Alliance webpage for Woodpecker Woods! It features an updated trail map (pictured below) and more information about our goals for ecological stewardship to restore natural systems, increase biodiversity, and improve ecosystem health for the benefit of wildlife and the entire community in the wildlife sanctuary.

🦌 Understanding Deer Impacts: Summary of Deer Exclosure Hike

On May 9 our Ecology Committee led an educational trek up Loudoun Heights to check out the local deer exclosure. Covering 6 miles and 1,250 feet of elevation gain over a 5-hour hike, the group got a firsthand comparison at how heavy deer browsing changes our forests.

• Inside the Fencing: A lush paradise! The protective perimeter contained over a dozen species of native plants—including rare varieties that are either completely absent or found only in stunted, heavily browsed forms on the outside.
• Outside the Fencing: In stark contrast to the protected zone, the adjacent unprotected forest floor was essentially completely bare of native growth.

This dramatic difference highlights why addressing and measuring deer pressure matters to the ecosystem. To help address this, our Ecology Committee has been actively piloting plots for the AVID (Assessing Vegetation Impacts from Deer) protocol to measure deer pressure and potentially their own deer exclosure in town.

🚧 Byron Bridge Update

The Byron Bridge as a passageway between the C&O Canal and Harpers Ferry will be closed for about three to four weeks for final installation. At the moment, the Byron Bridge remains open, but the latest update is that the closure of the temporary stairway to install the new stairway will start late June or early July. During closure, Harpers Ferry NHP will provide a shuttle between the NPS Visitor Center and C&O Lock 34. The ATC Visitor Center will also help coordinate volunteers who wish to shuttle, so contact John McGraw (jmcgraw@appalachiantrail.org) if interested in helping shuttle or if interested in any volunteering with the ATC Visitor Center.

To check for additional updates ongoing, follow this page from NPS.

🗓️ Upcoming Community Events

• May 30 (8–10 AM): Woodpecker Woods Monthly Bird Walk. Join local birding enthusiast Deb Hale for a walk to view and hear local and migrating bird species. In places trails are steep and may be muddy and slippery. Hiking shoes, hiking poles with blunt tips, and water bottle are recommended. Bring binoculars if you have them (we'll have some extra). Sorry, no pets. The event is free. Meet at the Old Furnace Rd gravel parking lot. Group size is limited; please sign up by emailing ecologyhf@gmail.com. Sponsored by the Ecology Committee of the Trail & Town Alliance.
• June 6 (11 AM - 5 PM): Loudoun Appalachian Trail Festival. Head over to Hillsboro, Virginia, for a free, family-friendly celebration of the Appalachian Trail put on by the A.T. Communities of Hillsboro, Round Hill, and Bluemont. Enjoy live music, nature crafts, a climbing wall, trail talks, food trucks, and local beverage sales!
• June 6 (5 PM): Music on the Ridge. Organized by the Corporation of Harpers Ferry, join your neighbors for a completely free lawn concert on the historic Storer College Lawn (359 Fillmore St). Grab a blanket or lawn chairs and enjoy an evening of live music featuring the band "Souled Out"!
• June 8 (8 AM): Harpers Ferry Bird Walk. Join volunteer Mark Bruns on a bird walk in and around Harpers Ferry this spring, starting at the ATC Visitor Center.
• June 8 (6-7 PM): The Lovetts and Their Hill Top House | History on Tap. Explore the rich stories of our historic town and gain a deeper appreciation of Harpers Ferry’s place in the nation’s story during our History on Tap series. Step into the warm, inviting ambiance of Alstadts Ale House and immerse yourself in engaging discussions on a range of fascinating history.

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What's the Trail & Town Alliance?

The Trail & Town Alliance of Harpers Ferry & Bolivar was formed by the towns of Harpers Ferry and Bolivar in 2008.

We're a group of volunteers who care about the future of our towns. We work for sustainable economic development, partner with our National Parks and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and make our towns’ outdoor resources even better for residents and visitors.

We also serve as the steering committee for the town's involvement in the Canal Towns Partnership and as a designated Appalachian Trail Community.

We meet monthly and always welcome new faces. Come say hello and learn what's happening in town! And feel free to forward this to a friend.

Find us on:
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🌳 Facebook
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Notes submitted by Bolivar resident Carter Hughes. Additions and corrections are welcome.