Community Corner

Man Battles to Save Trails in Silver Lake Preserve

Richard Viscome has enjoyed the trails in the Silver Lake Preserve for decades, but says four-wheelers and motorcycles are destroying the area for everyone.

A little known battle takes place every day in the Silver Lake Preserve in West Harrison, with neither side showing any signs of giving in.

Only this battle isn't being fought with words or weapons. It has continued for decades, the only means being logs and sticks—obstacles placed along the trail by West Harrison resident Richard Viscome who hopes they will keep the motorized vehicles that have been tearing up trails and walkways out of the area.

Almost every day for the last 25 years Viscome said he has been returning to find the logs moved to the side of the trail, clearing the way for the vehicles to enter the preserve. Almost every day he goes into the mud and pulls the obstacles back onto the trail, hoping it at least makes the thrill-seekers think twice before returning.

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So far it hasn't worked, groups of riders still return. Viscome guesses right now he is up against about six people who frequent the woods on ATVs and motorcycles. It has now been a couple generations of riders that have gone through the woods, but according to Viscome the results are the same. The powerful four-wheelers, ATVs and motorcycles continue to tear away parts of the woods, destroying walking trails and ruining bridges.

"It's a battle of attrition," he said while walking the trail Thursday.

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But Viscome said the problem has been getting worse over the last couple of years. With more powerful engines putting more force behind the wheels that ride over the trail, the damage has multiplied.

"The machines they are putting back there now, it's like comparing a Ferrari to a horse and buggy," Viscome said. "You don't need to be Einstein or Sherlock Holmes to figure out what's going on, it's a crime."

The Silver Lake Preserve isn't kept up or monitored on a regular basis by anyone. It's a county park, but Viscome said he has never seen anyone come by to clean it up besides him. As someone who runs or walks the park every day, there is no one more involved in its upkeep than Viscome. He has been visiting the park for 54 years, recalling Boy Scout trips to go camping in the woods as a child.

"It's a place of solitude and reflection," he said. "These guys are destroying it."

Viscome's care for the area is obvious. While hiking he often stops to remove small pieces of garbage, almost single-handedly keeping the trail clean for others to enjoy. He knows the trail so well that he could recall pieces of litter by brand name that he noticed while running that morning he planned to pick up. On Thursday he had his eye on a Dunkin' Donuts cup and Pepsi can that caught his eye earlier in the day.

"If I don't take the responsibility, this is lost," he said. "No one else cares."

The woods are a sight to see, located northwest of Silver Lake and extending south to the White Plains border, the walking trails offer a unique combination of beauty and history. Pops Cave, where legend has it a man lived in a rock cave renting canoes to visitors more than a century ago, is along the way. A rock grill can be found in one section.

But what was once a field and secluded area in front of Pops Cave is now a bike trail, flattened by the motorized vehicles Viscome has tried to keep out. Instead of a field in front of Pops Cave, there's now a bike jump. He fears other sections of the trail face the same fate.

Viscome placed a rock in front of that entrance, something he said he hesitates to do, but said he was fed up with the high level of destruction.

Motorized vehicles are illegal along the trails. Though Viscome doesn't have the authority himself to alter the trail to keep them out, he said town leaders have known what he is doing for decades now and no one has complained. He said he speaks with hikers as often as he can, explaining to them why the obstacles are there. They don't seem to mind, he said, understanding it's worth the extra effort while walking to trail to keep it preserved in the future.

The quiet battle was finally brought to the public's attention last week when Viscome decided to drive to Town Hall to address the town board. He had walked the trails with Mayor/Supervisor Ron Belmont the week before, but decided that evening that the rest of the community should know about the issue.

"Something just snapped last Thursday and I went down," Viscome said. "Emotionally it just got to me."

At the meeting Viscome addressed the board for about five minutes. He was promised that they will look into the issue, possibly with signs or increased monitoring. For police, it's a difficult area to enforce, but Harrison Police Chief Anthony Marraccini said he can try to catch unauthorized vehicles entering or leaving the park if he receives a call reporting it.

Viscome said has always avoided calling police, not wanting to tie up emergency lines with an unauthorized vehicle complaint. But he's received an assurance from the police chief that his calls won't go unanswered and that the department will try to enforce the laws of the park.

Armed now with more than just sticks, logs and branches, Viscome said he has Marraccini's number stored in his phone and plans to use it next time someone enters the woods on one of the vehicles.

It's one more threat Viscome hopes will keep the vehicles out, and the park preserved for future generations.

"We have to do something," he said. "I'm just trying to do the right thing."


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