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PRESS RELEASE: WATERMAN FUND ANNOUNCES ENDOWMENT CAMPAIGN SUCCESS, 2006 GRANT RECIPIENTS AND
UPCOMING ANNUAL DINNER 20 January 2006 For Immediate Release For More Information: Carl Demrow Phone: (802) 439-6773 E mail: info@watermanfund.org Note: Digital alpine photos from our partners are available upon request for media use. Complete copies of the funded proposals are available online at www.watermanfund.org. The Waterman Fund is pleased to announce that at the close of 2005, on the Fund's fifth anniversary, the organization passed a major milestone, raising over $250,000 in endowment funds for alpine stewardship projects. The Fund, named in memory of the late climber and outdoors writer Guy Waterman, has the goal of strengthening the human stewardship of the open summits, exposed ridgelines, and alpine areas of the Northeast. At its recent board meeting, the Fund also announced its 2006 alpine stewardship grant recipients. This year's grants represent a broad geographic range, a diversity of projects, and a total of $7,584 in funding. "Being able to draw upon a healthy endowment allows the Waterman Fund to provide seed money for important alpine stewardship initiatives," said newly elected Fund President Carl Demrow, of West Topsham, Vermont. "For a new organization, we're tremendously heartened by the outpouring of support for our work in supporting our mountain partners throughout the Northeast." The Appalachian Trail Conservancy, in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, will receive funding for a photomonitoring project along the Appalachian Trail in New Hampshire. The project will take place on the north and south summits of popular Mount Moosilauke, and will establish permanent photomonitoring points in order to monitor recreational impacts to alpine vegetation. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy will be partnering with the Dartmouth Outing Club and their Moosilauke Summit Steward, which the Waterman Fund has and continues to support. The Adirondack Mountain Club, based in Lake Placid, New York, will receive funding for, "informative signage to educate the hiking public on the fragility and importance of the alpine zone found on the summits of New York's sixteen tallest summits." The busy High Peaks Wilderness is within a day's drive of 60 million people. The high summits are home to a number of arctic tundra species. ADK's alpine education and outreach efforts operate under a partnership with the Adirondack Nature Conservancy and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The Town of Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, in collaboration with the Curious George Foundation will receive funding for a series of 7 educational trailhead displays on the topic of Mountaintop Ecologies, which will "emphasize environmental features found along the trails, as well as aspects of the human relationship to the land." According to the grant, "The initiative will provide information on the alpine plants and conditions in 'outcrop communities' on the craggy peaks of the western side of the Sandwich Range, including Welch and Dickey Mountains, Sandwich and Black Mountain, Osceola and the Tripyramids." The Dartmouth Outing Club, in Hanover, New Hampshire, will receive funding for its Mount Moosilauke Alpine Steward program. The trained steward works atop the peak during busy summer months to educate passing hikers and perform light trail work to mitigate hiker impact. In 2006, the steward will also assist with the ATC alpine photomonitoring project, and will develop educational materials and plans, evening programs and pre-season group outreach. The Fund is also announcing the date and location of its upcoming annual dinner. The dinner will be held Saturday evening, March 11, starting at 5:30 pm at the Perfect Pear Restaurant, Main Street, Bradford, Vermont. The annual event is open to the public and will feature the presentation of this year's Waterman Fund Alpine Stewardship Award. Due to limited seating, reservations are required. The cost of the dinner is $50. To make a reservation, please email at info@watermanfund.org or call (802) 439-6773. The Waterman Fund is a 501c(3) non-profit advised fund of the Vermont Community Foundation. All donations are tax deductible. Top of Page |
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The Waterman Fund
Supporting Education & Stewardship to Preserve the Alpine Areas of the Northeast Designed and Maintained by B2 Web Services
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