Kenneth C. Crowe II reports in the Times Union that Scenic Hudson is working on a study, “Hudson River Access Plan: Poughkeepsie to Rensselaer,” to combat Amtrak's repeated attempts to get state permission to put up gates along railroad tracks that would also block access to the River. The activist group held public meetings this weekend in Germantown, Rhinebeck, and Castleton-on-Hudson to publicize the issue. “We’re looking to open up access along a very long stretch of the river,” Jeff Anzevino, Scenic Hudson's director of land use advocacy, said. Last year, Amtrak backed off plans to get state approval for pedestrian barriers at seven track locations between Stuyvesant and Rhinecliff but the railroad said it would revisit the issue. Conservation group Scenic Hudson has now opened a website, HudsonRiverAccess.org, to collect public comments on the issue. “We fight to get access everywhere,” said Bob Davis of Trout Unlimited in Rensselaer County. Read more about this story in the Times Union.