After a public Green Acres meeting in Blairstown at which trail advocates were shouted down, a small group of them decided to form an ad hoc committee. Len, because of his Sierra Club background, became chairman of the Paulinskill Valley Trail Committee. It was the beginning of a seven year campaign for public ownership of the trail. Green Acres clearly wanted the property. There was potential for one of the premier trail systems in the state, and those that had done a lot of walking knew how this right of way could hook up to other paths.
Appreciation causes response in kind.
The committee began conducting hikes on the Newark property. We made lots of friends throughout the state and were supported by the Sierra club. They did whatever they had to do to prove that there was, in fact, strong local backing for the trail. At one point, in fact, a bill was presented to the state legislature that said Green Acres could no longer purchase land in Sussex County. The Sussex resolution showed Green Acres the support they needed to bring the purchase to Governor Kean, who authorized it.