The Catskill Forest Preserve
Volunteers by Jeff Senterman
It’s not a park. That’s perhaps the first thing visitors need to know about the Catskill Forest Preserve (CFP).
The area commonly called the “Catskill Park” is a mix of public and private land. A “blue line” was drawn on a map in 1904 establishing the boundary. All lands inside that “park” boundary acquired by New York State must be keep forever wild.
It’s not a park in the sense of a state park, but an ideal of land acquisition.
“The Catskill Forest Preserve is completely different than a State Park,” Catskills Program Coordinator of NY-NJ Trail Conference and Director of Catskill Conservation Corps, Doug Senterman, said. “You can do a lot less”.
A park, in its common usage, is an area of land, usually in a largely natural state, for the enjoyment of the public, having facilities for rest and recreation, often owned, set apart, and managed by a city, state, or nation.
In NYS a Forest Preserve is protected as "forever wild" by Article XIV of the New York State Constitution and is managed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
State Parks are managed and funded by the New York Office of Park, Recreation and Historic Preservation and have a budget nearly double the DEC.
Additionally, Forest Preserves, with the exception of intensive use areas, are not allowed to charge for access nor are they allowed to fund raise directly.
In one way this is good as the land is protected for the free use of the people. On the other hand the only monies the CFP has for management, upkeep, rangers, and stewardship, are the funds allocated in the NYS budget.
February 9 is Catskill Park Awareness Day. On that day the Catskill Park Coalition (CPC) will approach legislators in Albany with a list of five requests for funding for the Forest Preserve to be included in the upcoming budget (learn more here).
Last year’s appeal generated a line item for the region under New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Aid to Localities budget for the first time.
The area commonly called the “Catskill Park” is a mix of public and private land. A “blue line” was drawn on a map in 1904 establishing the boundary. All lands inside that “park” boundary acquired by New York State must be keep forever wild.
It’s not a park in the sense of a state park, but an ideal of land acquisition.
“The Catskill Forest Preserve is completely different than a State Park,” Catskills Program Coordinator of NY-NJ Trail Conference and Director of Catskill Conservation Corps, Doug Senterman, said. “You can do a lot less”.
A park, in its common usage, is an area of land, usually in a largely natural state, for the enjoyment of the public, having facilities for rest and recreation, often owned, set apart, and managed by a city, state, or nation.
In NYS a Forest Preserve is protected as "forever wild" by Article XIV of the New York State Constitution and is managed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
State Parks are managed and funded by the New York Office of Park, Recreation and Historic Preservation and have a budget nearly double the DEC.
Additionally, Forest Preserves, with the exception of intensive use areas, are not allowed to charge for access nor are they allowed to fund raise directly.
In one way this is good as the land is protected for the free use of the people. On the other hand the only monies the CFP has for management, upkeep, rangers, and stewardship, are the funds allocated in the NYS budget.
February 9 is Catskill Park Awareness Day. On that day the Catskill Park Coalition (CPC) will approach legislators in Albany with a list of five requests for funding for the Forest Preserve to be included in the upcoming budget (learn more here).
Last year’s appeal generated a line item for the region under New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Aid to Localities budget for the first time.
Volunteers by Jeff Senterman
The 2016 requests include support for a $3 million Environmental Protection Fund. The CPC will ask for funding for planning, infrastructure maintenance and improvements, and community grants. Additional monies for Forest Ranger academies, and the expansion of the budget for DEC Division of Lands and Forests Park will be solicited.
The requests will also include funding for a pavilion, an amphitheater, a fire tower, trails, solar arrays, and electric vehicle charging stations at the Maurice D. Hinchey Catskill Interpretive Center and money toward acquiring lands identified as priorities by the DEC.
The CPC will also request greater support for the growth of public/private stewardship partnerships such as the Catskill Conservation Corps, the Catskill Summit Stewards program, Fire Tower Stewards program, and the Catskill Regional Invasive Species Partnership (CRISP) to counteract resource degradation from increased visitor-ship and invasive species.
The CFP further differs from a state park in the ways the public can use it.
The 287,500 acres within the CFP is broken down into five usage classifications: wilderness, wild forest, primitive bicycle corridors, intensive use, and administrative use. .
There are 143,000 acres of Wilderness area in which no powered vehicles are allowed. Recreation is limited to passive activities such as hiking, camping, hunting, birding and angling which are themselves subject to some further restrictions to ensure that they leave no trace for later recreationists. Structures are not generally allowed nor is the use of power equipment.
While retaining an essentially wild character a Wild Forests, 130,000 acres, is an area which sees higher human impact and can thus withstand a higher level of recreational use like hiking, camping, xc-skiing, and mountain biking. Some areas have snowmobiles and horse trails.
Intensive Use areas, there are about 6,000 acres of this in the CFP, are places like state campgrounds or "day use" areas and are most like a park. There may be designated campsites, picnic tables, charcoal grills, public restrooms and shower facilities and swimming areas with lifeguards. A fee is charged between May 1 and October 1 for most of these activities, and sometimes just for entering the area. Belleayre Mountain is an Intensive Use area.
The Maurice D. Hinchey Catskill Interpretive Center on Route 28 is an example of an Administrative Use area.
Because the CFP is not staffed like a park with rangers who build and maintain trails, clean-up and provide public information volunteers are crucial.
The requests will also include funding for a pavilion, an amphitheater, a fire tower, trails, solar arrays, and electric vehicle charging stations at the Maurice D. Hinchey Catskill Interpretive Center and money toward acquiring lands identified as priorities by the DEC.
The CPC will also request greater support for the growth of public/private stewardship partnerships such as the Catskill Conservation Corps, the Catskill Summit Stewards program, Fire Tower Stewards program, and the Catskill Regional Invasive Species Partnership (CRISP) to counteract resource degradation from increased visitor-ship and invasive species.
The CFP further differs from a state park in the ways the public can use it.
The 287,500 acres within the CFP is broken down into five usage classifications: wilderness, wild forest, primitive bicycle corridors, intensive use, and administrative use. .
There are 143,000 acres of Wilderness area in which no powered vehicles are allowed. Recreation is limited to passive activities such as hiking, camping, hunting, birding and angling which are themselves subject to some further restrictions to ensure that they leave no trace for later recreationists. Structures are not generally allowed nor is the use of power equipment.
While retaining an essentially wild character a Wild Forests, 130,000 acres, is an area which sees higher human impact and can thus withstand a higher level of recreational use like hiking, camping, xc-skiing, and mountain biking. Some areas have snowmobiles and horse trails.
Intensive Use areas, there are about 6,000 acres of this in the CFP, are places like state campgrounds or "day use" areas and are most like a park. There may be designated campsites, picnic tables, charcoal grills, public restrooms and shower facilities and swimming areas with lifeguards. A fee is charged between May 1 and October 1 for most of these activities, and sometimes just for entering the area. Belleayre Mountain is an Intensive Use area.
The Maurice D. Hinchey Catskill Interpretive Center on Route 28 is an example of an Administrative Use area.
Because the CFP is not staffed like a park with rangers who build and maintain trails, clean-up and provide public information volunteers are crucial.
Volunteer by Jeff Senterman
“The Catskill Forest Preserve would not function without the volunteer organizations,” Senterman said.
The Catskill Conservation Corps is a partnership between the NY-NJ Trail Conference and the DEC to provide enhanced opportunities to volunteer on projects that protect natural resources and enhance outdoor recreation opportunities in the Catskill Mountains Region, according the CPC website.
“All of the groups are working together to raise awareness of what the Forest Preserve offers and that it’s not a park,” Senterman said.
These organizations maintain the 351, or so, trails in the CFP and 31 out of the 32 lean-tos.
The list of volunteer organizations in the Catskills includes but is not limited to: New York New Jersey Trail Conference, Catskill 3500 Club, Catskill Mountain Club, Catskill Center for Conservative and Development,which runs the Catskill Firetower Project and the Catskill Interpretive Center, Catskill Mountainkeeper, the ADK(both main branch does the paid crew and a few local chapters do volunteer work such as Hudson Valley ADK and Long Island ADK, Woodchuck Lodge in Roxbury,and Scenic Hudson (they are not within the Blue Line but in the Catskill Region) according to Senterman.
In 2015 Governor Cuomo designated $5 million to the Catskill Region for tourism. This is, again, the good news and the bad news.
“This is a bit like opening the floodgates to the CFP and saying come on in and use this,” Trail Conference, Assistant Catskills Program Coordinator Will Soter, said."But the CFP is not ready for that. The parking lots are already at capacity. There were crazy issues last year with people leaving trash at Deep Hole. People don’t understand that CFP isn’t a park. It’s a Forest Preserve with a carry-in, carry-out ethic."
Tourism and more appreciation of our wonderful natural resource of the Catskill Mountains could be a great thing, but without proper stewardship it could just as easily be a bad thing. Please send a petition to your legislator or participate in Catskill Awareness Day and help keep the Catskill Forest Preserve the beautiful resource for the people that it is today.
The Catskill Conservation Corps is a partnership between the NY-NJ Trail Conference and the DEC to provide enhanced opportunities to volunteer on projects that protect natural resources and enhance outdoor recreation opportunities in the Catskill Mountains Region, according the CPC website.
“All of the groups are working together to raise awareness of what the Forest Preserve offers and that it’s not a park,” Senterman said.
These organizations maintain the 351, or so, trails in the CFP and 31 out of the 32 lean-tos.
The list of volunteer organizations in the Catskills includes but is not limited to: New York New Jersey Trail Conference, Catskill 3500 Club, Catskill Mountain Club, Catskill Center for Conservative and Development,which runs the Catskill Firetower Project and the Catskill Interpretive Center, Catskill Mountainkeeper, the ADK(both main branch does the paid crew and a few local chapters do volunteer work such as Hudson Valley ADK and Long Island ADK, Woodchuck Lodge in Roxbury,and Scenic Hudson (they are not within the Blue Line but in the Catskill Region) according to Senterman.
In 2015 Governor Cuomo designated $5 million to the Catskill Region for tourism. This is, again, the good news and the bad news.
“This is a bit like opening the floodgates to the CFP and saying come on in and use this,” Trail Conference, Assistant Catskills Program Coordinator Will Soter, said."But the CFP is not ready for that. The parking lots are already at capacity. There were crazy issues last year with people leaving trash at Deep Hole. People don’t understand that CFP isn’t a park. It’s a Forest Preserve with a carry-in, carry-out ethic."
Tourism and more appreciation of our wonderful natural resource of the Catskill Mountains could be a great thing, but without proper stewardship it could just as easily be a bad thing. Please send a petition to your legislator or participate in Catskill Awareness Day and help keep the Catskill Forest Preserve the beautiful resource for the people that it is today.
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