County tends to trail issues

Hunting signs will be posted

WILTON — Saratoga County officials plan to post signs at Louden Road Trail parking areas to let hikers and walkers know when hunting seasons are in effect.

Recently, some people expressed concerns about safety at the county-owned parcel near Wilton Mall, where trails were built three years ago.

Hunting is allowed on all county-owned land.

“Hunters have a right to be there,” Saratoga Springs Supervisor Matthew Veitch said. “Hikers need to be educated about what the hunters are doing.”

The Saratoga County Trails Committee discussed the issue last week at county offices in Ballston Spa.

Louden Trail is one of several trails that have been built in recent years.

Committee member Larry Gordon of Wilton

said some residents, especially newcomers, don’t understand what hunter’s rights are.

“It behooves us to notify the hikers when hunting season is in effect,” he said.

Signs also will remind hunters of regulations, such as no hunting within 500 feet of a residence.

“Ninety- nine- point- nine percent of hunters are doing it the right way,” Hadley Supervisor Arthur “Mo” Wright said.

However, some complaints about littering have been made by people who use the Louden Trail site for target practice. County Planning Director Jason Kemper said he visits the parcel frequently and has found things such as shell casings left behind. Also, he said some people have used trail markers for target practice.

“I think we should spell out the rules,” he said. “I think that’s good for hikers and hunters.”

Trail additions in the works

In other action, Kemper updated the committee about extending the Zim Smith Trail to Mechanicville. At present, it goes nine miles from Ballston Spa to the intersection of Route 67 and Coon’s Crossing Road in Stillwater.

Plans call for extending it another three miles to Mechanicville schools, which would cost $2 million for right-of-way acquisition, design and construction. From there, the trail could connect to Champlain Canalway trails.

The new Zim Smith section would be on the south side of Route 67 in the town of Halfmoon.

Most property owners along the route have expressed interest in the trail, but there is no set timeline for work to actually take place.

“Our plan moving forward is to build it piece by piece, in three sections,” Kemper said.

Also, the committee heard plans for opening 10 miles of new trail next spring on county- owned land in Moreau, with parking areas on Butler, Redmond and Potter roads. The trails would be especially suitable for horses.

Each year, the county puts timber harvesting out to bid on a portion of the 3,000 acres of countyowned land. Several contiguous parcels were harvested this year in Moreau, and the roads loggers built will be used for trails.

The county earned about $ 100,000 from this year’s harvesting. Some money is used to pay local and school taxes on the land. The rest goes into county coffers.