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Topic: SOME HILLTOP UPDATES... (Read 18164 times) |
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LionelTrainGuy
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Re: SOME HILLTOP UPDATES...
« Reply #30 on: Mar 16th, 2010, 11:06pm » |
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It's time for another Spring Clean-Up on the Hilltop!!
The Hilltop Conservancy is holding its 7th Annual Spring Clean-up in the Reservation. This year's event will be a 3-day affair starting Friday, March 26th and going through Sunday, March 28th, from 9am to 3pm each day.
If heavy rain is falling, the event will be held over 3 days the weekend after Easter, April 9th through April 11th.
We will be focusing our efforts on the hillside just east of the new water tower at the south end of the loop road. Volunteers can enter the Reservation from Courter Lane in North Caldwell and follow the signs to the area of the loop road south of the new water tower. A Conservancy member will be nearby to direct volunteers. It is also possible to enter from Fairview Avenue in Cedar Grove and walk the loop road to the clean-up site.
The Conservancy will provide large trash bags, and asks you to bring as many small plastic ones as you can, like those you get from the grocery store. Tough gloves, sturdy shoes, long pants, snacks and water are also recommended -- count on getting dirty!
If you have tools such as a spade, garden fork or bow saw, please bring them -- they will be useful for digging out debris and cutting obstructing branches, brush, etc.
Kids are welcome. We look forward to reconnecting with fellow Hilltoppers as we continue to clean up the Reservation. See you there!
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LionelTrainGuy
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Re: SOME HILLTOP UPDATES...
« Reply #31 on: Mar 21st, 2010, 9:34pm » |
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Happy Spring to All
I was able to make a pass through some of the trails within the Hilltop this evening and discovered that a few big trees have come down on the peace trail and old hilltop trail. That's a natural occurrence and eventually they'll get cut out; in the mean time it is possible to get around or over them.
Sadly, I also discovered intentionally placed logs and branches across the white rock trail. It's hard to imagine that someone has that much malice. Fortunately, this repeat offender will eventually be spotted, outed and hopefully arrested. I believe the charge is criminal mischief. The county police should be contacted if you observe anyone intentionally placing
hazards on trails.
Any of these branches could be a tripping hazard so if you can, push these tripping hazards back to the side of the trail where they came from. These branches generally served as "curbs" to help keep people on the trail and minimize impact to the forest.
Interestingly, this person's negative actions have attracted a positive action. I was contacted by a local scout group who wants to adopt a local trail and coincidentally, they are interested in the white rock trail.
Sincerely,
Hilltop Conservancy
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LionelTrainGuy
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Re: SOME HILLTOP UPDATES...
« Reply #32 on: Mar 31st, 2010, 9:33pm » |
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Hello Hilltoppers:
Thanks to everyone who turned out for this past weekend's spring clean-up on the Hilltop. Over 20 people braved the chill over this past Friday, Saturday and Sunday to locate, dig out and haul old trash and debris up the hillside. Our "treasures" included:
Beds and mattress springs
Over a dozen old tires
Rusted metal objects such as barrels, pails, desk & drawers, fencing, poles, window frames, cabinets, steel door, etc.
Water heater, cast iron sink, radiator and pipes
Rolls of rotting carpet (my special favorite), discarded clothing, miscellaneous plastic
Bottles, cans, other household trash items
We also had enough energy to fill two open storm drains with rocks (one was 20 feet deep!! -- thereby removing a pedestrian hazard), scatter some wildflower seed along the route between the old ground tank and the new water tower, and pick up trash that had blown off North Caldwell's Hilltop Drive onto the park's western route.
The two rather large piles we created will be picked up sometime during the next few weeks by the Parks Department.
Special thanks goes to Rick Lay and Weiner Rivera of Grove Landscaping (Verona) for supplying heavy equipment and manpower Friday morning -- we couldn't have hauled up that water heater, fencing or carpet without them!!
Thank you again for contributing your time and energy to helping improve the Hilltop Reservation. It's people like you that make a difference!!
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riada
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Re: SOME HILLTOP UPDATES...
« Reply #33 on: Apr 1st, 2010, 10:46pm » |
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Are these items that were cleared up leftover from EMS?? I would imagine that the old beds were. Im surprised that there still were things up there to be seen, I was under the impression that everything was gone...
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How red the rose leaves fall—
Fall and like blood remain
Upon the dial's disc, whose pedestal,
Black-mossed and dark with stain,
Crumbles in sun and rain.
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LionelTrainGuy
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Re: SOME HILLTOP UPDATES...
« Reply #34 on: Apr 1st, 2010, 11:25pm » |
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you know, i thought the same thing too when i read that post. but the more i thought about, i would have to say that none of that stuff could be from the ems. as many times as we have been up there, we never came across things like that. i think the trash came from others places. some stuff might have come from overbrook and the jail while other trash was dumped there by careless people. there was a story about someone dumping construction debris on the hilltop. besides, i don't think i would want to touch a old mattress thats been laying around outside for the past 20 years.
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LionelTrainGuy
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Re: SOME HILLTOP UPDATES...
« Reply #35 on: Jun 7th, 2010, 9:32pm » |
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A MESSAGE FROM OUR FRIEND THERESA:
Hi everyone:
I have some very good news for you -- the County has agreed to sponsor a Green Acres grant for the much-needed (and long-awaited) improvements to the Hilltop Reservation's western route. The scope of the grant will include grading, repair and resurfacing of the route, as well as restoration of wildlife habitat along the way, and in the 4-6 acres of open wetland that abut sections of the route.
I've already met with the grant writer that the County uses for Green Acres applications. We're working with the Parks Department to define requirements, estimate costs and describe how improved access to the park and habitat restoration will benefit the local community and the nature preserve itself.
The general timeline of the current Green Acres grant process is as follows:
Conservancy application submitted by July 31st
All applications reviewed in Fall 2010
Decisions made and grants awarded by October 2010
Estimates, detailed planning, approvals, etc. obtained Winter 2010 / Spring 2011
If we are awarded the grant this Fall, we may not see actual route improvements implemented until some time next year. However, the good news is that the process has been initiated, and that we have a very good story to tell in our application.
I hope you feel this is good news too! Have a great week. TMT
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my whole world is falling, going crazy
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Greetings from beautiful downtown Riverside, New Jersey!!!
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LionelTrainGuy
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Re: SOME HILLTOP UPDATES...
« Reply #36 on: Jun 7th, 2010, 9:33pm » |
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THIS IS A MESSAGE I RECIEVED TODAY FOR THE PRESDIENT OF THE HILLTOP CONSERVANCY
Dear Hilltoppers...
I hope you are all well and enjoying this magnificent day!
Some not so good news ... a week or so ago, someone with a key to the Hilltop Reservation gates backed a car up to the bags of top soil stacked at the eastern side of the meadow and stole 7 bags of it. I'll save you my rant about what kind of person steals, indeed from hardworking Conservancy volunteers - but do want to once again supply you with the telephone dispatch number of for the Essex County Sheriff's Department. Please report any suspicious activities. They will respond and want to put a stop to this.
Essex County Sheriff's Dispatch: 973-482-2100
Thank you so much! I appreciate your interest and help.
Anne
President, The Hilltop Conservancy, Inc.
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my whole world is falling, going crazy
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Vic Rattlehead
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Re: SOME HILLTOP UPDATES...
« Reply #37 on: Jun 8th, 2010, 9:18am » |
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Ok that pisses me off to no end, a bag of top is what $1.75-$2.00 at most yet the better option is to steal it?give me a break, not to mention from hardworking citizens who work there asses off day in and day out to get by in a state that is overrun with high taxes, gas prices and everything else you can imagine thats setup to drain those who at the very least earn there money legally. 
L O S E R S
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LionelTrainGuy
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Re: SOME HILLTOP UPDATES...
« Reply #38 on: Jun 8th, 2010, 9:45pm » |
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now...now...now...simmer down there little fellow...you don't want to end up with high blood pressure. i'm sure who ever stole those bags sold them to buy cocaine or pot.
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my whole world is falling, going crazy
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my front porch light is on but the bulb has burned out.
Greetings from beautiful downtown Riverside, New Jersey!!!
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Vic Rattlehead
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Re: SOME HILLTOP UPDATES...
« Reply #39 on: Jun 8th, 2010, 10:28pm » |
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True 
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LionelTrainGuy
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Re: SOME HILLTOP UPDATES...
« Reply #40 on: Jun 8th, 2010, 10:36pm » |
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drive by demonic's house...see if he is doing any landscaping this week.
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my whole world is falling, going crazy
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Greetings from beautiful downtown Riverside, New Jersey!!!
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Vic Rattlehead
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Re: SOME HILLTOP UPDATES...
« Reply #41 on: Jun 8th, 2010, 11:13pm » |
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LMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
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LionelTrainGuy
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Re: SOME HILLTOP UPDATES...
« Reply #42 on: Nov 16th, 2010, 10:06pm » |
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A message from the Hilltop Conservancy:
Hi everyone: I hope you're all enjoying the Fall season so far, and getting ready for Turkey Day (only 10 days to go!) --
I'm writing to alert you and to ask for your help with a problem we've noticed in the Hilltop Reservation. It appears that someone or some group has been doing unauthorized trail work in the park -- normally, we greatly appreciate people pitching in and volunteering. However, particularly with trails, somebody's good intentions and "improvements" can actually make things worse. Such is the case with recent activity along the Old Hilltop and Peace Trails, and in the area around White Rock.
During the past 2 months, someone has been removing logs / large branches from the beds of steep parts of the trails, as well as cutting large numbers of fox grape and virginia creeper vines. The logs are there to mitigate erosion on those steeps slopes -- without them, the trails wash out from winter and spring run-off, which degrades the trail bed as well as exposes the roots of surrounding trees (which will kill them over time).
Grape vines are being cut wholesale, throughout the woods -- they should only be cut if they directly interfere with a marked trail (that usually means less than 4 feet away from the trail). Grapes and their seeds are one of the few food sources for birds and small mammals that the deer can't reach, so we need to preserve them. Many of the vines cut were almost 3 inches in diameter -- it will take decades for them to regenerate and bear fruit again, a significant loss for wildlife.
The Hilltop Conservancy's main mission is to preserve and improve wildlife habitat in the Hilltop Reservation. However, increasing run-off and eliminating wildlife food sources runs counter to that mission. So we're asking anyone who is currently performing trail work in the park, or who would like to do so, to please first contact our Trails Captain. He is well-versed in trail building and maintenance techniques, and a good trainer. He can provide guidance and help avoid damage like what I've described above.
You can also help by telling us when you see what looks like trail work being done by someone you don't know. We are aware of everyone who has been authorized to do so, and can check out any unauthorized activity. Please don't be shy about this -- anybody who is authorized to do trail work in the Reservation will not mind being asked about it. If they do mind, that's a strong hint that you should send us a quick e-mail and ask us to look into it.
Thanks in advance for your help. With your assistance, I'm sure we can stop this damage -- however unintentional it may have been -- and ensure that the Hilltop Reservation's wildlife habitat is preserved.
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my whole world is falling, going crazy
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my front porch light is on but the bulb has burned out.
Greetings from beautiful downtown Riverside, New Jersey!!!
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LionelTrainGuy
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Re: SOME HILLTOP UPDATES...
« Reply #43 on: Dec 5th, 2010, 9:42pm » |
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More trouble on the Hilltop...
Hi everyone: We've had more unauthorized activity in the park during the past several weeks.
In one instance, someone marked and cleared a trail that cut through part of the meadow restoration inside the loop road, without first getting approval from the Conservancy. The trail markers have since been removed from the section inside the loop road, and that part of the trail has been blocked off. If whoever created this trail had checked with the Conservancy or the meadow project manager, we could have saved that person a lot of work. Now, that trail must be either re-routed or discontinued.
In a second instance, someone has installed two tall 4x4 poles not far from the new water tower. I understand from a passerby that a combined group of adults and kids put them up last week, with the goal of installing bat houses. Those poles were installed on private Verona land, NOT on County park land, and both just missed underground electrical and piping conduits that support the new water tower (and the North Caldwell homes just west / down the hill). Again, if whoever wanted to do this project had simply checked with the Conservancy first, we could have advised them of more appropriate locations, and saved them some time and effort.
As it is, those poles will be removed during the next few weeks. If anyone knows which group did this, or has their contact information, please let us know. At least then we might be able to set the lumber aside for re-use in the future -- in a more appropriate location -- instead of just throwing it away.
In the future, please please PLEASE check with the Conservancy, before launching any project or activity inside the Hilltop Reservation. We know what can, and can't, be done, and where, based on 7 years of experience monitoring, maintaining and improving the park, and because of our partnership agreement with the County.
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my whole world is falling, going crazy
there is no escaping now I'm crackin' up
my front porch light is on but the bulb has burned out.
Greetings from beautiful downtown Riverside, New Jersey!!!
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LionelTrainGuy
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Re: SOME HILLTOP UPDATES...
« Reply #44 on: Dec 31st, 2010, 7:34pm » |
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Hi everyone: this time around, I'm happy to report some authorized work in the Reservation --
On Monday, December 6th, five Conservancy volunteers and a forest ecologist braved the cold wind and gray skies to plant 15 plots of 10 red oak tree seedlings each on the Hilltop. This planting is part of the County's effort to more accurately monitor forest health over the long term -- similar plantings are already in place at South Mountain and Eagle Rock Reservations, and at several dozen other sites across New Jersey.
You might see a few of these seedling plots if you go walking in the woods -- they are marked by orange tape on nearby tree branches, orange flags at each corner, and orange ribbon tied around each seedling stem. Each plot has also been mapped via GPS, and will be monitored and measured for growth twice a year by the forest ecologist.
Feel free to take a closer look if you notice the orange tape; just be careful not to step on the seedlings? Thanks, and I hope everyone is staying warm these days!
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my whole world is falling, going crazy
there is no escaping now I'm crackin' up
my front porch light is on but the bulb has burned out.
Greetings from beautiful downtown Riverside, New Jersey!!!
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