Tom Lupp, Volunteer of the Month, October 2009

• Chair of A.T. Corridor Management Committee, 6 ½ years
• Supervisor of Corridor Management, 4 years
• Corridor Monitor Pen Mar area, 18 years
• Co-Chair of the Maryland A.T. Management Committee, 5 years
• Wrote current edition of North half Tuscarora Trail Guide
• North Chapter Member & former Chapter representative to Council
• Oversight of PATC's A.T. Local Management Plan , including the 2004 revision.
  

Tom had a brief introduction to the Appalachian Trail in southern PA in Scouts in the 60s.

After college, he became interested in camping and backpacking.  Tom began section hiking the A.T. and other local trails.  In 1986, he contacted a club member about updates to the Big Blue and was directed to the North Chapter.  His first work trip was on the A.T. corridor, the section he now monitors.  Tom worked with Chapter leaders such as Charlie Irvin and Elizabeth Johnston and participated in their monthly work trips. Tom has fond memories of nights spent at the Hermitage Cabin after the work events.

In 1992, Tom took over monitoring the Pen Mar North corridor section between PA Rt. 16 and the Mason Dixon Line.  In 1999, he was elected to the then Supervisor of Corridor Management position on our Executive Committee, a position he held for four years. The Supervisor position was changed to a Committee Chair in 2003, which he has held since then.

Supervising the A.T. Corridor program has been very interesting and rewarding for Tom. Most of the work is done in the off-season and he gets to explore the forest off the beaten path. He enjoys teaching volunteers map and compass skills and has worked with many interesting people over the years, including those who work for NPS and ATC. Tom has secured grant monies for PATC from L.L. Bean for gates and tamper-resistant trailhead kiosks. For the past several years, Tom has spent a great deal of effort performing boundary recovery to compliment the ATC program.  This is why he leads Club work trips to assist with boundary recovery.

Since 2004, Tom has Co-Chaired the Maryland A.T. Management Committee. The Committee deals with the various issues and groups that have an interest in the trail in MD.

Tom’s professional career as an entomologist for the MD Department of Agriculture allows him to keep tabs on the various pests that affect the health of the forest along South Mountain.