The Catskill Chronicle

CATSKILL MOUNTAINS, NY (May 26, 2014) – On Tuesday, May 20, Catskill Mountainkeeper joined the Nature Conservancy, Catskill Center, NY Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC), the Catskill 3500 Club and

New York/New Jersey Trail Conference to celebrate the acquisition of 590 pristine acres in the Catskill Park.

This land includes three parcels on the slopes of 3,600-foot Balsam Mountain, one of the 35 peaks over 3,500 feet in the park.

Thanks to the efforts of the Catskill Park Coalition (CPC), and especially Alan White of the Catskill Center, this property was transferred from the Nature Conservancy to the NYSDEC, and added to the Catskill Park Forest Preserve.

This acquisition follows the successful “Catskill Park Awareness Day” on February 25, when 49 coalition members met with the Governor’s office, DEC and multiple State Senators and Assembly Members to advocate for the Catskill Park. The Awareness Day legislative agenda included this priority land protection project, as well as the urgent need for additional forest rangers in Catskill Park, and budget requests for the Catskill Interpretive Center, the Environmental Protection Fund and the Catskill Association of Tourism Services.

Mountainkeeper citizen activists, Melissa Gould, William Gutmann and Carolin Walton-Brown joined in on the Awareness Day.

Catskill Mountainkeeper also announced the launch of the new Catskill Park Coalition website, which you will find at www.catskillparkcoalition.org.

The Catskill Park Coalition was formed in 2013 by Catskill Mountainkeeper, the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, and The Natural Resources Defense Council. The coalition has since grown to include more than 25 member groups, all united in the goal of securing funding and resources to preserve the Park’s historic and scenic integrity, while strengthening the recreation-based economy of surrounding communities in the region.

The new website includes news articles that explain the Coalition’s origins and activities, including the first broadscale Catskill Park Awareness Day on February 25, as well as a moving essay on what the Catskill Park means to all of us, whether locals or visitors from across the State and Nation.

There is a section titled “Our Catskills,” which at the moment is a static site, but will be converted to an interactive blog in which anyone and everyone can offer comments, share stories, upload images, call attention to situations in the Park deserving attention and rally us all to action.

There will be regular updates to the website, including announcements of future actions. Visit the site at www.catskillparkcoalition.org.