On June 14th, I had the opportunity to celebrate what really are historic gains for the Catskill Park in the NYS Budget and during the legislative session. Most of these legislative and budget gains are thanks to the hard work of Senator Michelle Hinchey. Our Senator, whose district covers a majority of the Catskill Park, has brought a strong voice to the Senate for a region and the effort she’s put into it has paid off. You can discover all the ways that the Catskill Park benefited in this summary from the Catskill Center.

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We know that the Catskill Park and its public lands are a major economic driver to our region – bringing more than 1.7 million people to the park, spending more than $75 million locally and creating hundreds of jobs – thanks to a study completed by the Catskill Center and Catskill Mountainkeeper, 

That said, we know we cannot just continue to welcome more and more people to this area. That’s simply not a sustainable way of doing business or protecting our resources.

Only through the education of visitors and the coordination of park resources can we find a way to welcome increasing use, while protecting the Catskill Park’s natural resources and ensuring residents’ quality of life isn’t negatively impacted.

The Catskill Stewards Program from the Catskill Center is a perfect model of this collaborative success. The Catskill Center has worked hand in hand with the NYSDEC at the Peekamoose Blue, Platte Clove, and Kaaterskill Falls to welcome visitors and educate them on how to responsibly recreate.

At Kaaterskill alone, our Stewards have welcomed more than 82,000 visitors since the program began here.

Overall, our Stewards have greeted more than 141,000 visitors to the Catskill Park.

1. We provide them with a warm, welcoming, hello.
2. We help orientate them about the Catskill Park
3. We provide information about their location
4. We help them with trail information
5. We educate them about Leave No Trace principles and how to recreate responsibly
6. We direct them to the Catskills Visitor Center following their visit for even more information and educational opportunities

Our Stewards have also:

1. Cleaned areas and removed at least 581 bags of trash or about 11,600 pounds of  trash
2. Removed almost 500 rock stacks
3. Helped visitors avoid almost 1000 parking citations
4. Greeted over 2900 dogs

Senator Hinchey’s support has allowed us to double the size of the Catskill Stewards program this year. We now have full-time stewards working at the Peekamoose Blue Hole and Kaaterskill Falls full-time, 7 days a week. At Platte Clove we have a Steward working expanded weekend hours. In addition, we have a full-time Ridgerunner hiking the trails of the Catskill Park, but now offering all the same services as a Steward, but in the backcountry for the visiting public.

While the Stewards program is a great example of the success of collaboration between partners to manage increasing use, what the Catskill Park really needs is a statewide effort to coordinate between the different regions and units that make up this area. 

The Catskills are split by many state level regions, including

• Two DEC regions
• Multiple DOT region
• Multiple Regional Economic Development Councils
• 4 different Counties
• 26 different Towns
• And Dozens of nonprofit organizations

The Catskill Park Coordinator laid out in the bill introduced by Senator Hinchey, and passed by the New York State Senate, would foster communication and collaboration between all involved in the Catskill Park. This role would be transformational for all those who work in the park, having resources dedicated to the details of the Catskill Park, and to the implementation of plans that for too long have sat on a shelf unused.

The Catskill Park Coordinator position is a perfect example of just that – first envisioned in the 1999 Catskill Forest Preserve Public Access Plan, the idea has been around for decades before implementation due to a lack of resources.

Thank you to Senator Hinchey for pushing us all forward on the necessary improvements to how the Catskill Park operates and for ensuring that the State’s budget includes the necessary funding to make real changes in how the Catskill Park addresses increasing use in both the big picture and at individual sites, like here at Kaaterskill Falls