Less than a third of the tracks discovered are on display.

Of the tracks, preserved under layers of protection at Dinosaur State Park in Rocky Hill, CT.

Boggles the mind.

Tracks in time.

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— Moo Dog Press (@moodogpress.com) May 31, 2025 at 11:16 AM

Could’ve been lost. Because of choices then, preserved–as a state park.

Under the earth (to protect what is not under geodesic dome), marvels. Dinosaur trackways.

#FossilFriday

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— Moo Dog Press (@moodogpress.com) February 7, 2025 at 2:19 PM

Let’s look at the interwoven places, communities, commitment to land, water, air–people being recognized for their dedication. Because behind the scenes and on the front lines with the public are humans quietly at work.

The Connecticut Greenways Council (CGC) will host its 26th Annual Connecticut Greenway Awards at Riverfront Recapture’s Boathouse in Hartford on Friday, June 6, 2025, 10 a.m. The event is traditionally held on the Friday before Connecticut Trails Day, which occurs the weekend of June 7 and 8, 2025.

The Byram River Greenway in Greenwich will be formally designated at Friday’s event. Awards will be presented to six additional organizations and individuals who have made significant contributions to the promotion, development, and enhancement of greenways in Connecticut.

The Byram River Greenway in Greenwich is a corridor of open space composed of Greenwich Land Trust’s Bryam River Preserve and Lapham Preserve, along with adjacent Greenwich Audubon conservation land and Town of Greenwich open space. The properties total 249 acres and stretch north to south more than 2.75 miles. They encompass a rich tapestry of natural habitats including meadows, woodlands, river bottoms, and riparian zones, providing vital ecological functions and potential recreational opportunities for the local community. Additionally, they directly protect the water quality of the Byram River. Currently, access to these natural areas is limited. (See also: https://greenwichfreepress.com/around-town/connecticut-greenways-council-and-ct-deep-designates-byram-river-corridor-official-greenway-232748/)

This Year’s Greenways Awardees:

Clare Cain has served as the Connecticut Forest and Park Association’s (CFPA’s) Trails Director for more than 15 years and currently also serves as CFPA’s Interim Executive Director. Clare has been the leader in maintaining CFPA’s Blue-Blazed Trail System. The trails are hosted on 825 miles of private, town, and state lands stretching across 96 towns and now include the nation’s newest National Scenic Trail, the New England Trail, designated in 2009. Clare has been a long-term advocate of trails in Connecticut and is knowledgeable in all aspects of trail planning, construction, and management. She has a history of working with various members of the public across ages, backgrounds, and skill levels.

Joanne Tedford works for Town of Manchester’s Leisure, Family, and Recreation Department. She has been a life-long advocate for, user of, and planner of multi-use trails. Last year she led Manchester’s pursuit of national recognition as a Bike Friendly Community. This effort involved bringing together committee members from the Police, Town Planning, and Town Engineer Departments along with greenways advocates and trail users. Joanne currently is preparing an application to the American League of Bicyclists to achieve Gold recognition. She also is preparing a grant application for a 2.5-mile multi-use trail loop connecting Charter Oak Greenway, Main Street, Center Park, Center Springs Park, Cheney Rail Trail, Hartford Road, and the Historic District Area.

Stacey Stearns served on the Connecticut Greenways Council from 2016 through 2024 as a dedicated representative of Connecticut’s Equestrian community, supporting the review and decision-making process for Connecticut Recreational Trails grants, and actively supporting the planning and execution of the annual Connecticut Greenways Awards and Connecticut Trails Symposium. In her professional position, Stacey serves as a Communications Specialist for the University of Connecticut Extension and uses the skills she has developed to support many volunteer positions such as serving as Chair of the Mansfield Agricultural Committee and Board Member of the Morgan Horse Association. We want to thank Stacey for her commitment to the Connecticut Greenways Council and the trail community across Connecticut.

Kevin Sullivan is the co-founder of Bike Walk Wethersfield and has been a strong advocate for bicycle and pedestrian access and bike commuting throughout the state. In his professional position, commuting by bike to Hartford, Kevin was a Supervising Environmental Analyst for the CT DEEP Waste Engineering and Enforcement Division, serving the public for over 37 years prior to his retirement in early February 2025. He has been the lead organizer of the Hartford Bike to Work Day, coordinating with CT DEEP and Connecticut Department of Transportation staff and commissioners. Kevin volunteers for many bike and pedestrian organizations and planning advisory groups throughout Connecticut.

Newtown Bridle Lands Association (NBLA) formed in 1978 by a small group of riding enthusiasts. NBLA’s activities encompass preserving and expanding Newtown’s trail system and offering educational talks, demonstrations, and group trail rides. They work with landowners and developers to maintain and preserve crucial links in Newtown’s trail system. Due to members’ efforts, all town-owned open space is available to horseback riders. NBLA’s ultimate goal is to link open space with existing trails for a town-wide trail system. NBLA received a Recreational Trails Grant in 2023 to improve a trail crossing and develop a new parking area for both horse trailer and car parking to support trail access in the Newtown Forest Association’s properties. The projects were successfully completed within six months of grant contract execution.

University of Connecticut (UConn) Connecticut Trails Program. Stemming from the Connecticut Trail Census pilot program, the UConn CT Trails Program has grown to include Connecticut Trail Finder and outreach and education efforts that truly have revolutionized what we know about trails and trail users and how trail users access trails in Connecticut. We have had a front-row seat to witness the professionalism, ingenuity and passion with which UConn staff Emily Wilson, Anita Morzillo, Adelheid Koepfer, and Laura Kelly have developed the CT Trails Program into a one-of-a-kind resource for Connecticut. The UConn CT Trails Program is the only state-level source of freely accessible, transparent trails data that serves many user groups including community leaders, decision-makers, planners, economic development personnel, trail advocates, trail users, and the public. Connecticut contains thousands of miles of trails on interspersed parcels managed by an impressive number of organizations. Yet there is little comprehensive understanding of how many people use these trails and the exact breadth of the resource in terms of trail miles and location. Consequently, there is an unmet need for trail managers to provide and trail users to access accurate and comprehensive information including maps about trails across the state regardless of who manages or maintains them. The UConn CT Trails Program has been working to inform these questions and address the issues for both trail managers and trail users alike under its umbrella of member programs and activities.

Connecticut Trails Day

The Greenway Awards also mark the unofficial kick-off to National Trails Day, known locally as “Connecticut Trails Day,” a two-day event that occurs the first weekend of June every year to promote Connecticut’s diverse trail offerings. This year, nearly 200 Connecticut Trails Day events will occur June 7-8, 2025. Connecticut hosts more events than any state in the nation. Visit the Connecticut Forest & Park Association’s Trails Day page to find a hike, bicycle ride, paddle, or trail maintenance event happening in your area.

Inside.

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— Moo Dog Press (@moodogpress.com) May 30, 2025 at 2:49 PM

Brings to mind the riches that exist as the Othniel Charles Marsh papers collection. Immediate Source of Acquisition: Gift of O.C. Marsh, 1899, and of the Archives of the Peabody Museum, Yale University. (Sigh. Time to read and write, link words to places, sites, walk route.)

“The papers consist of correspondence, diaries, notebooks, school notes, and other papers of O.C. Marsh, scientist and first professor of paleontology at Yale and in the United States. Of special interest is the rather extensive correspondence Marsh carried on with many prominent scientists of his time; included are letters from Charles Darwin, Leonard and Thomas Huxley, Simon Newcomb, and Benjamin Silliman Sr. and Jr. Also included are materials relating to Marsh’s education at Andover, Yale, and in Germany, family papers, papers reflecting his involvement with the Cardiff Giant hoax and the Red Cloud controversy, and six stereographs.”

Start here: Series V: Biographical material, 1828-1898.

Scope and Contents:
“The biographical material in this series includes five chapters of Marsh’s projected autobiography, begun the year before his death and known as his “Narrative Volume.” One chapter of this unfinished work, condensed in the Schuchert-Le Vene biography, provides a vivid account of a buffalo hunt when Marsh was caught on muleback in a stampeding herd. Also included are letters between Ernest Howe and George Bird Grinnell and between Howe and Schuchert concerning biographies of Marsh, a 1940 exchange between George F. Eaton and J. Donald Adams of the New York Times, and an album of obituary clippings on Marsh.”

In my 'Great Books of the Geosciences' class today, students will do in-class writing explaining how Darwin applied paleontology & geology in his book 'On the Origin of Species.' After that, I'll introduce our last great book of the term, "Ichnology of New England" by Edward & Orra Hitchcock. 🧪🦖🐾📚

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— Anthony (Tony) J. Martin (@ichnologist.bsky.social) November 11, 2024 at 9:16 AM

Editor’s note: This story has been updated. For inspiration, visit the Connecticut Digital Archive (CTDA) is a “digital repository program and community dedicated to the preservation, maintenance and delivery of a wide-range of digital cultural heritage resource from memory institutions in Connecticut.” Search CTDA by city, area of interest. Or browse. Highland Country Club is not there anymore, but the history stands.