Newsletters

Dear Friends and Neighbors:
Please help us as the Board and other Kirkland Trails volunteers work to develop a network of trails in the Town of Kirkland. Since our founding in 2018, and thanks to the generosity of our community, we have made steady progress in developing the Kirkland South Section of the Chenango Canal Trail. With the upgrade last summer of the trail north of Dugway Road to NYS Route 12B, the Town of Kirkland now has a three-mile trail to Deansboro where it connects to the three-mile Town of Marshall trail ending in Oriskany Falls. We now need your help to
accomplish the next phases of our plan.

In 2024, the Town of Kirkland was awarded a $1.5 million federal TAP Grant to help develop portions of the planned two-mile Kirkland North Section Trail. Kirkland Trails helped write the grant application. The grant covers 80% of the total project cost ($1.9 million), while the remaining 20% ($400,000 – the local share) has been split equally by the Town and Kirkland Trails. Work on the north section is expected to begin this year and be finished by the end of 2026 or in 2027. The remaining portions not funded through the TAP Grant will be constructed by the Town Highway Department with materials purchased by Kirkland Trails. We need to raise the funds for the trail materials.

In addition, last year we learned that the NYS Department of Transportation plans to replace the NYS Route 12B bridge over Oriskany Creek near the Kirkland South Section trailhead in the next two to three years. Kirkland Trails representatives met with the DOT engineers to discuss the possibility of adding a pedestrian/bicycle lane to the new bridge. The Department of Transportation has generously planned to include the bridge lane and to construct trails segments connecting the bridge to our current trailhead to the west and to Furnace Street to the east. Kirkland Trails has been asked to raise funds for these trail segments and for a possible trailhead parking area.

We are very excited about these plans for new trail construction during the next two years, and we want to keep up our current momentum. To do so, we need to replenish our trail development funds. We will seek grants, but they generally require a local share of 20% to 25%. We also will work with our Town, County and State governments to identify other sources of funding. They each have already been crucial to our success. It benefits the organization when we can point to strong community support for trails. Your contribution to and membership in Kirkland Trails demonstrates this support. To become a member, all you need to do is contribute whatever amount you wish. Help keep our momentum going to complete the multi-use trail through the Town of Kirkland from Deansboro north to Clark Mills and beyond. If you are currently a member, thank you for your past donation. We hope you will continue to contribute and maintain your membership. If you are not a member now, please consider joining our effort to build trails in our community. As a member you are welcome to attend our board meetings and will receive our annual newsletter, regular Nature Updates from our resident naturalist, notices of important meetings and an invitation to our Annual Membership meeting. This year and 2026 are big years for us. We will need considerable support from our community to make all this new trail construction a reality.

Happy trails. Thanks for your support.
Sincerely,
Chip Bassett