EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The highlight of 2025 is by far the contribution of many volunteers.  There were over 300 hours dedicated to fulfilling the stewardship agreement to the DEC trails of West Almond and maintaining them for each season’s use.  That includes constant trail upkeep by trail riders on horseback, the numerous volunteers that joined us for bi-annual maintenance days, and the hours put in by the volunteer winter trail-grooming crew. 

                 The  IMPACT Board of Directors continues to be ambitious in seeking opportunities and grant money to improve the trails in Allegany County.   The Trail 3 improvement proposal was awarded by the Parks and Trails New York Round 10 Partnership Grant program in August. The Bethesda Foundation of Hornell generously provided a matching grant of $6000 to accompany the application. We learned that our grant application was approved in early 2025, with construction that began in July.

  IMPACT also hosted several guided trail excursions during the year.  There was a fantastic turnout of 56 participants for ‘First Day Hike’, and five participants in each of the winter ‘Twilight/Moonlight’ hikes, both of which ended up being fun snowshoe excursions.  We will continue to host these events in 2026 as well as plan for a signature annual awareness and fundraising trail run to be held at the end of next summer.

                  The annual members meeting and picnic was productive and well attended by 10 riders and 35 hikers.  The board of directors retreat in October focused on guidance of the Strategic Plan and renewed effort to reach out to members past and present, develop fundraising strategies, and solicit support locally. At the end of the year we had ten Board members, and are looking to fill the five remaining positions.

Link to full report to be added