Meeting Time and Location:

 

6:00 PM, Guide House, High Peaks Cyclery, Lake Placid

 

Meeting was called to order at 6:17 PM. Approximately 40 people attended the meeting.

 

Note: This was the first meeting of the Adirondack Climbers Coalition (ACC), called for the purpose of formation and organization of the Coalition.

 

Prior to discussing the Agenda items, Will Roth and Allison Rooney provided a brief introduction and history. The previous incarnation of an Coalition was put in place some years ago to develop an organized response to the issue of the endangered Peregrine Falcon, and the interface between climbing activities and DEC’s actions to protect the species. The current Coalition is being organized partly in response to the recently released draft Sentinel Wilderness Unit Management Plan by DEC. However, the intent is for the ACC to be sustainable on an ongoing basis, to provide Adirondack climbers with an organized voice.

 

Agenda Items and Discussion:

 

Election of Officers and Board of Directors:

 

There was a discussion of the appropriate number of seats to have on the Board. It was recommended that the Bylaws be amended to include a tie-breaking process in the event of a Board vote ending in a tie.

 

The Board Officer nominees were proposed by Jim Lawyer, seconded by Dominic Eisinger, and approved by a voice vote. The approved Officers are:

President	Will Roth
Vice President	Allison Rooney
Secretary	Tom DuBois

 

The Board Members were selected via discussion with the overall group. Each Bard Member was nominated and seconded by the group, and approved via a voice vote.

 

The approved Board Members are as follows:

 

Royce Van Evera

Kevin MacKenzie

Robert Livingston

Dominic Eisinger

Colin Loher

Ross Manny

Griff Keating

Jeremy Haas

 

Additional discussion around Board Membership took place:

 

>It was suggested that the Board include someone who represents the Bouldering community. Some names were discussed, but no specific action was taken.

 

>It was suggested that the Board include an Attorney. Some names were discussed, but no specific action was taken.

 

>It was suggested that the Board include a French language speaker, to help expand the presence of the organization among French speaking climbers. No one was added to the Board, but in later discussion, Michelle Sirois volunteered to help the organization with contacting the French speaking climbing community.

 

Ratification of Bylaws:

 

The draft Bylaws were discussed. The draft Bylaws had been posted for some time on the ACC website, so all present had an opportunity to review them.

 

The draft Bylaws were approved with the following amendments:

 

>The maximum number of Board members is changed to 13 from 12.

 

>The summary sentence under Article 5. Committees is edited to include the Peregrine Monitoring Committee.

 

(As noted above, during earlier discussion it was recommended that the Bylaws be amended to include a tie-breaking process in the event of a Board vote ending in a tie. No specific action was taken at this meeting to amend the Bylaws to include this povision.)

 

The Bylaws were approved by a voice vote.

 

 

 

Discussion of Committees:

 

Four Standing Committees and Committee Chairs were identified:

 

Trail Work	Mark Scott
Public Outreach and Education	Colin Loher
Responsible Fixed Anchor	(Board + Jim Lawyer)
Peregrine Monitoring	Royce Van Evera / Robert “Doc” Livingston

 

These were approved via discussion with the overall group.

 

Discussion of Upcoming Trail Work Projects:

 

For the Giant and Dix Wilderness Areas, DEC has approved the carrying out of maintenance on “Climbers Trails.” These trails will still not be shown in the UMP or on official maps as “trails,” but are approved for maintenance work. The first project is expected to be erosion prevention and stabilization at Spanky’s Wall. The DEC will provide resources to assist in this project. Project dates are to be determined.

 

There was discussion that the climbers’ trails in the Sentinel Wilderness may become recognized in the UMP as “official” trails, which will put them in a somewhat different category from the trails in Giant and Dix. More information on this will be developed going forward.

 

There was discussion of a “different color” trail marker to be potentially used for recognized climbers’ trails. Again, more information on this will be developed going forward.

 

Discussion of Trail Etiquette:

The group recognizes the importance of sharing resources with other user groups. Specifically, it was noted that skiers and climbers share the Jackrabbit Trail in Keene. The Coalition requests that all climbing users of the Jackrabbit Trail wear skis or snowshoes during winter use and avoid damaging the ski tracks.

 

 

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 7:30 PM.