SHERBURNE – The Chenango Canal Heritage Trail Coalition will be holding a planning conference at the NYS DEC Rogers Center on Route 80 west of Sherburne on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The public is invited. Refreshments and a light lunch will be provided.

The Chenango Greenway Conservancy, the Chenango Canal Association, Parks & Trails New York, representatives from the NYS DEC, and the Department of Transportation, along with numerous other organizations and individuals are working together to sponsor this fall’s conference, which is the fourth in a series of ongoing planning and development sessions. The conference is supported by a generous grant from the Kodak American Greenways Program and the Conservation Fund.

The goal of the Chenango Canal Heritage Trail (CCHT) Coalition is to develop a pedestrian / bicycle route that roughly parallels the 97-mile corridor of the historic Chenango Canal from its origin at the Erie Canal in Utica, over the hills, and down the Chenango Valley to Binghamton. Only a very small portion of the original canal is still in existence. Therefore, much of the proposed route will be along the shoulders of existing roadways, incorporating the currently available off-road segments of the trail where possible. Further off-road segments will be added to the trail as they become available. It is also anticipated that this proposed route will provide a stimulus to develop interest in connecting sections of the historic canal that are still in existence close to the CCHT trail.