The path to success for outdoorsman and environmentalist Richard Schary was a long and windy one. Quite literally, in fact, because his goal was to restore, mark and safeguard a four-mile meandering trail in Syosset's Stillwell Woods that many nature-lovers had abandoned.

On Saturday, June 5, Schary's rejuvenation plans for the tree-lined path known as the Sierra Club Trail was officially complete, and several environmental organizations celebrated on what was National Trails Day.

The trail is one of several paths a hiker may take to explore the hundreds of acres of mostly county-owned land. Some paths have remained in good condition, like the Greenbelt Trail, which is cared for the by Long Island Greenbelt Trail Conference, an organization comprised of nature walkers.

But the beauty and serenity of the path maintained by the Sierra Club, an organization seeking environmental preservation, has diminished over the past several years. According to Schary, a Greenbelt board of directors member and a Sierra Club member, hikers who once frequented this area were soon avoiding it because of overgrowth, insufficient path marking (to prevent someone from getting lost) and safety problems.

The latter of the three was particularly a concern, as nature-lovers peacefully traversing Stillwell Woods found themselves clashing with a sudden and growing influx of lawbreakers-on-wheels.

"We've had a lot of trouble with motorized vehicles, ATVs (all-terrain vehicles) and motorcycles riding rough-shot in the preserves, scaring people, and causing tremendous environmental damage," said Schary. "A lot of people are afraid to go back there because of these vehicles."

Motorized vehicles are illegal on the county-owned land because of the inherent danger to bikers, hikers and horseriders, and also because they damage trees and soil, leading to erosion.

Schary, who recently was named the Sierra Club's Environmentalist of the Year, decided that a way to express his appreciation to the organization was to coordinate an effort to salvage the trail as well as to "reestablish the fact that people are allowed to walk in this park," he said. It already was something he had being looking into doing, he explained, "to get more hikers in there, get more people to be aware of it and give the Sierra Club a trail of their own."

For that, Sierra Club officers such as Eric Morgan are most grateful. "[Schary's] done an extraordinary amount of work...to get approval from the county to do that project," said Morgan. "He really deserves most of the credit."

For months, Schary garnered support from the town, county and state, enlisting the help of the police, the Syosset Fire Department and a variety of environmental and outdoor organizations, including Greenbelt, the Sierra Club, CLIMB (Coalition of Long Island Mountain Bikers) and the Nassau Suffolk Horsemen Association.

The project culminated on June 5, as members from all of these groups congregated on the fields of Stillwell, right across from the high school. They then took to the trail and began to revive it step by step.

Volunteers dug holes for signs that town workers then cemented into the ground. Some of them were to clearly mark the trail; others were to warn potential lawbreakers that motorized vehicles are illegal and subject to fines and seizure.

The police were even present that day to back up the threat. Schary is crediting two Second Precinct officers with helping establish ongoing cooperation with the police, Officer Ken Schmitt and Officer David DeGasperis. Both officers are members of the Police POP (Problems on Patrol) Unit and are trained in mountain biking. As part of their rounds, these officers will patrol through the woods on their bikes, searching for illegal vehicles.

"You put 12 [ATVs] out there running all over the trails and its insane out there; it's dangerous," explained Schary. "We need a police presence."

The Sierra Club's Eric Morgan agreed. "They [the illegal drivers] were really tearing up the paths and causing a lot of erosion," he said.

Said Officer Schmitt, "We're going to send a message to ATV drivers that the police are watching and, if they do get caught, we're going to take their bikes away." A fine, however, is the most likely course of action against such an infraction.

Schmitt said that he and his partner are attempting to assemble a volunteer citizen's patrol, which will monitor the woods and report back to the police on where in the woods the illegal activity is most concentrated.

The Syosset Fire Department also took steps to further improve hikers' and bicyclists' safety by purchasing an ATV of its own in order to gain access to victims in hard-to-reach areas in the woods. Obviously, the law makes an exception for this rescue vehicle.

The Second Precinct POP Unit and the Fire Department is also working on mapping the numerous circuitous trails within the preserve so that they can find the quickest route to any accident site.

Schary is pleased to see that nature-lovers have reclaimed the once-lost Sierra Club trail, and hopes many hikers will use it to their advantage to view Stillwell's many remarkable splendors. Such large, unspoiled preserves are "unusual for Nassau County," he said. "You can hike for hours without seeing anybody."