* * * UPDATE: DUE TO EXPECTED RAIN on OCTOBER 29TH, WE ARE POSTPONING OUR TRAIL OPENING UNTIL NEXT SPRING * * * *
The Board of Trustees of John Burroughs’ Woodchuck Lodge in Roxbury is pleased to announce that a new trail on the lodge property will soon open to the public. The trail, named the Trout-Lily Trail, will have its unveiling event NEXT SPRING instead of October 29th at 1pm as previously planned.
The final Wild Saturday at Woodchuck Lodge, on Saturday October 7th at 1pm, is “Alien Invaders in Burroughs Backyard”.
John Thompson, Catskill Regional Invasive Species Partnership Coordinator, updates us on how Catskill forests have changed since John Burroughs tramped through these woods. Forests are now threatened by the introduction of species that would be unfamiliar to Burroughs. There will be discussion of invasive species and what we can do to help protect the Catskill Mountains for the future. This is a chance for all to learn how to identify the top pests that are killing our trees.
Not everybody knows not to move firewood, for example, which is very important because this is the way invasive pests travel from ports of entry into the interior of the US. It’s illegal in New York State to move firewood more than 50 miles from its source. Its also illegal to bring untreated firewood into New York state. Always buy firewood in the village or town where you intend to camp.
Woodchuck Lodge’s Wild Saturdays have been hugely popular with locals and visitors alike. Our last Wild Saturday (Face to Face with Raptors) on September 2nd with received 45 visitors.
Free, guided tours of Woodchuck Lodge are offered the first weekend of the month on Saturday and Sunday, 11am to 3pm, so if you can’t make our Wild Saturday presentation, you still have the rest of the weekend to take a tour with one of our docents on October 7th and October 8th, which will be the final guided tour of the year.
All events take place at 1pm at 1633 Burroughs Memorial Road, Roxbury, NY 12474. Children are welcome.
The next Wild Saturday at Woodchuck Lodge, on September 2nd at 1pm, is entitled Face-to-Face with Raptors. Annie Mardiney, federally licensed wildlife “rehabilitator”, shares her deep passion by bringing hawks, owls, and falcons to Woodchuck Lodge. Come meet them face to face!
Free, guided tours of Woodchuck Lodge are offered the first weekend of the month on Saturday and Sunday, 11am to 3pm, so if you can’t make our Wild Saturday, you still have the rest of the weekend to take a tour with one of our docents on September 2nd or September 3rd.
The final guided tour of the year will take place on the first weekend in October.
Visitors can also now take advantage of our new trail. Woodchuck Lodge received a grant this year to develop the mile-long trail around the Woodchuck Lodge grounds and our Trustee Patti Rudge has been overseeing its construction. The trail provides a unique view of the property, snaking up and behind the Lodge and through a forest and out into our meadow that has stunning views.
All events take place at 1pm at 1633 Burroughs Memorial Road, Roxbury, NY 12474. Children are welcome.
Woodchuck Lodge’s Wild Saturdays have been hugely popular with locals and visitors alike. Our last Wild Saturday on July 1st entitled Wildlife Near Home with Mairead Mulhern received 35 visitors, even on a day on which rain was forecast!
Paul Misko, founder of THE CATSKILL 4000 CLUB gives talks and writes articles on Catskill history, John Burroughs, and hiking. His talk on August 5th beginning at 1pm is called “Observational Hiking”, something John Burroughs encouraged whenever outdoors. There’s plenty to discover in the forests of the Catskills in terms of wildlife, natural history and the environment. Paul provides a multi-media presentation of his hiking discoveries enhanced by his relevant anecdotes. All events take place at 1633 Burroughs Memorial Road, Roxbury, NY 12474. Children are welcome.
The Annual Meeting of the membership of John Burroughs’ Woodchuck Lodge will be held
Saturday, July 29, 2017 at 1pm at Woodchuck Lodge
Burroughs Memorial Road, Roxbury NY
AGENDA
Reports to the membership
Election of Trustees to 3-year term:
Dr. Julianne Lutz Warren (trustee since 2002)
Dr. Bill Birns (trustee since 2008)
Karen Underwood (trustee since 2013)
Rudd Hubbell (new trustee)
Brett Barry (new trustee)
Election of Officers for 2017-18
President – Bill Birns
Vice-President – Vivian Yess Wadlin
Treasurer – Karen Underwood
Secretary – Jenny Neal Urbanski
A Walk in Mr. Burroughs’Woods, Meadow, and Orchard
Please wear walking shoes and think “tick protection”
On Saturday July 1st at 1pm, Mairead Mulhern will give a talk on Wildlife Near Home at Woodchuck Lodge. Mairead, an Environmental Educator from Mine Kill and Mac V. Shaul State Parks, will discuss local wildlife found in Upstate New York. Come take a look at various pelts, skulls, and feathers that are from local animals found in your county! This is a family friendly event. All ages welcome. Address: 1633 Burroughs Memorial Road, Roxbury, NY 12474.
“Very few species use the same material uniformly. I have seen the nest of the robin quite destitute of mud. In one instance, it was composed mainly of black horse-hairs, arranged in a circular manner, with a lining of fine yellow grass; the whole presenting quite a novel appearance. In another case, the next was chiefly constructed of a species of rock moss.”
Upstate Dispatch has published a post on reading John Burroughs’ storied collection of Atlantic Monthly magazines and his Encyclopaedia Britannica. Though aging and withered, it’s an invaluable insight into the world, as it was seen by journalists, one hundred years ago.
To promote our Wild Saturday events at Woodchuck Lodge Paul Misko will be appearing on WIOX Radiotomorrow, Monday morning June 12th. The show is broadcast for an hour from 9am to 10am on Monday. Tune in at 9am to hear J.N. Urbanski’s interview with Paul.
Paul will be speaking at Woodchuck Lodge on August 5th at 1pm about Observational Hiking, something that John Burroughs encouraged whenever outdoors. He is founder of The Catskills 4000 Club and gives talks and writes articles on Catskill history, John Burroughs, and hiking. Paul provides a multi-media presentation of his hiking discoveries enhanced by his relevant anecdotes.
The Lodge is now open for the summer season! Tours of the Lodge are offered the first weekend of every month, May through October, Saturday and Sunday, 11-3pm. Click here to find a map of our location.
Reservations are not needed. Group tours on other dates are provided upon request with at least one month’s notice.
Please note: The Lodge is not wheelchair accessible.
Admission is free; donations towards the ongoing restoration of the house are warmly received.
After your tour, be sure to spend some time at John Burroughs Memorial Field State Historic Site a pleasant walk (or a short drive) up the road. An outdoor exhibit recounts highlights of Burroughs’ life and work. A marked path takes you to his burial place where you can sit on a rustic bench, or on the stone wall surrounding his grave, to drink in the wonderful view and savor the silence. John spent much time here in his youth, day-dreaming atop a boulder deposited by a glacier eons ago. Known as Boyhood Rock, it now marks his resting place, visited by pilgrims from all over the world.
