SUNY-ESF will be hosting an extensive bicycle tour of Huntington Wildlife Forest in about two weeks to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the college’s Newcomb Campus in the Adirondacks.

The event, which will be held on Sept. 9, is free and gives students the chance to explore the upstate New York wilderness, right at the start of fall.

The Huntington Wildlife Forest is part of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry Newcomb Campus — a vast experimental research forest containing 15,000 acres of land. The campus was founded in 1932.

Newcomb serves as a home for ecology forestry and wildlife management research, featuring a few lakes and more than 3 miles of nature trails.

Erin Griffin, environmental education coordinator for Newcomb, is running the bike event for the third time.

She said the bike tour is “moderately difficult.” Bikers will travel about 10 miles with different stops along the way, she said. Some sections of the trail will be hilly, Griffin said, but nothing serious. The stops along the trail highlight the college’s research, she added.

Among the research facilities is Wolf Lake, a heritage lake that has no human development on its shores. Wolf Lake still contains its original fish population.

SUNY-ESF graduate and research analyst Natasha Karniski said in an email that additional researching facilities at Newcomb include shelterwood establishment cuts, which demonstrate how forests regenerate. There are also deer exclosures and collection sites for beech nuts.

Potential wildlife sightings there include beavers, deer, grouse, loons and other birds, Karniski said.
Although the bike tour runs across 10 miles of land, Griffin said the bicyclists will have the option to finish earlier if they want.

The tour intends to introduce people to the landscape at the Newcomb Campus and to appreciate the research being conducted there, Griffin said.

Participants are welcome to bring their own bicycles and those without a bicycle can rent from a nearby rental store, Cloud-Splitter Outfitters.

Transportation will not be provided to the Newcomb Campus, Griffin said. There are still spots available for preregistration, which is open to the general public. Four people are currently signed up and the limit is 15.

Sept. 8 will be the final day to preregister online.

Published on August 27, 2017 at 10:39 pm

Contact Alex: ajpark02@syr.edu