HOCKING HILL, OH (NewsDakota.com) – Eight members of the Sheyenne River Valley Chapter of the North Country Trail Association attended the National Conference at the Hocking Hills in Ohio.

The Hocking Hills region of Ohio is known for its massive rock formations, tranquil waterfalls and cascade and beautiful vistas. While there, they attended programs, hikes and the national awards presentations. Three members of the Sheyenne River Valley Chapter were chosen to receive national recognition.

Luc Albert received the Rising Star award, given to an NCTA member between the ages of 8 and 25, who has made significant contributions to the Trail and seems likely to continue, and whose dedication to the Trail and the NCTA sets an example to other youth and shows exceptional promise. Even though Luc has only been a member of the Sheyenne River Valley Chapter for a short time, he has extensive knowledge of the North Country Trail Association and the Sheyenne River Valley Chapter segments specifically. Luc has missed few workdays since joining our chapter. He has trimmed trees along the trail, installed signage, helped to construct boardwalks and has even had a lesson on running the DR mower! Luc has also attended national conferences in Fargo and Marquette, Michigan.

Daryl Heise was awarded Trail Maintainer of the Year Award given to a volunteer who has demonstrated exceptional dedication or achievements over a three or more year period in maintaining or restoring pre-existing Trail segment(s). Daryl has been a member since 2004 and served as chair or co-chairperson of the Trail Development committee for the chapter from 2007 to 2013. As chair of the Trail Development committee, Daryl was instrumental in routing, developing, organizing and supervising the construction of 29 miles of new trail. Daryl has built and helped place numerous boardwalks, literally hauled tons of scrap iron and abandoned railroad ties from a proposed trail route, placed many miles of signage on and mowed nearly all the trail miles in our chapter. He also served and provided valuable input on the NCTA national equipment review committee. Daryl is a hard worker and an excellent problem solver and as such is a valuable asset to the Sheyenne River Valley Chapter and North Country Trail Association.

Tyler Modlin, manager of Fort Ransom State Park, received the NCTA Friend of the Trail award given to an employee of a unit of governance, organization or school whose leadership, accommodations and active collaboration have substantially benefited the North Country Trail or the NCTA, not working solely in the capacity of an NCTA member. Tyler has been an invaluable agency partner of the Sheyenne River Valley Chapter.  He maintains his own certified segment of the trail within the boundaries of the park for hiking in the summer months and grooms the trail for cross-country skiing in the winter months, but also helps to promote the NCT throughout the year. With the construction of the new Visitor Center at Fort Ransom State Park, Tyler lobbied the North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department for the production of interpretive kiosks highlighting the North Country Trail, not only through his own park but the local region and throughout the state as well along with maps showing the route of the trail and includes brochure racks for national and local brochures. Tyler sponsors a National Trails Day program annually and has also hosted several of our summer hikes.  Tyler has been a true “partner” to our chapter and the NCTA.

The National Park Service also recognized members of the North Country Trail Association for varying levels of volunteer hours in service of the organization. Luc Albert was awarded for over 100 hours of volunteer service, Robert and Janet Patton for over 200 hours and Jerry Warner for over 1,000 hours of volunteer service to the North Country Trail Association.

The North Country National Scenic Trail is the nation’s longest National Scenic Trail stretching 4,600 miles across 7 northern states (ND, MN, WI, MI, OH, PA, and NY). The Trail traverses through a National Grassland, 10 National Forests, more than 150 federal, state and local public lands; near three of the Great Lakes; past countless farmlands; through large cityscapes; over many rivers; and through the famed Adirondack Mountains. The National Park Service administers the North Country National Scenic Trail, and hundreds of dedicated and hardworking volunteers give tens of thousands of hours of labor annually towards building and maintaining the North Country Trail.

Local certified segments include about 35 miles of trail from Baldhill Dam north along the West side of Lake Ashtabula, 4.5 miles through Valley City, 4.3 miles from Kathryn to Clausen Springs Recreation Area including a sweet little 2 mile hike around the lake there, 2.2 miles in Fort Ransom State Park, 4.2 miles in the Sheyenne State Forest and 27 miles in the Sheyenne National Grasslands.

For more information on the North Country National Scenic Trail visit our website at www.northcountrytrail.org/srv, email srvchapter@northcountrytrail.org, call Scott Tichy at 845-2970 ext. 4 or call the NCTA Office at 1-866-hikeNCT (445-3628).