Save the Date!! Barnfest 2013 – Woodstock!

Join the Mountainkeeper team, Chevy and Jayni Chase, Ben Hewitt, Sean Eldridge, Patrick H. Dollard, Aidan Quinn, Melissa Leo, the Helms, Catherine Sebastian, Happy Traum, the Little Farm Show, Paul Green and the Rock Academy and tons of great local bands.

WOODSTOCK, NEW YORK
SAVE THE DATE: JUNE 22, 2013 - 12-5pm
Join Catskill Mountainkeeper at our 
5th Annual 
Barnfest 

BarnfestFlyer2013

As always, Barnfest is FREE! We do require registration to attend. Click here to register now!


PLACE & TIME

Andy Lee Field – In the Heart of Downtown Woodstock
Rock City Road,
Woodstock, NY 12498
12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Ben Hewitt

KEYNOTE SPEAKER
B
en Hewitt
Food Activist and best selling author of The Town that Food Saved and Making Supper Safe

Want to help? Click here to volunteer at Barnfest

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR MEDIA SPONSORS GREEN DOOR MAGAZINE AND WDST RADIO WOODSTOCK

2013 HYDRO-FRACKING DAY OF ACTION

JOIN MOUNTAINKEEPER AND OUR ALLIES TO PASS A TWO-YEAR MORATORIUM ON FRACKING

Come to Albany on May 22 for a Fracking Lobby Day!

We need action on Fracking! In response to overwhelming public pressure, legislation was introduced in both the Assembly and Senate to enact a two-year moratorium on fracking until a comprehensive health impact assessment can be completed. The Assembly has all ready passed it, and now it is time for the Senate to pass the bill and the Governor to sign it into law! Join us on May 22 to tell our legislators we want a health impact assessment and a two-year moratorium!

Schedule
9:00am – 9:30am registration/check-in (w/coffee and bagels)
9:30am – 10:30am briefing
11:00am – 3:00pm lobby visits
3:00pm drop off report forms/check-out

Sponsors:

Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy * Catskill Mountainkeeper *Center for Environmental Health * Citizens Campaign for the Environment * Delaware Riverkeepr Network * Earthworks * Environmental Advocates of New York * Natural Resources Defense Council *NYPIRG *Riverkeeper * Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter * Southern Cayuga Anti-Fracking Alliance

To become a sponsoring organization please contact Katherine Nadeau, EANY at [email protected].

Questions or problems with registration? Contact [email protected].

Study Co-Sponsored By Mountainkeeper Shows Outdoor Recreation on Catskill Lands Brings Millions of People and Millions of Dollars

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PDF of Catskills Study

February 6, 2013 —

REGION — The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is touting the beneficial impacts of its reservoirs and other holdings on the Catskills, which are highlighted in a new study commissioned by the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development (CCCD), Catskill Mountainkeeper (CMK), and Catskill Heritage Alliance (CHA).

According to the study, outdoor recreational activities that rely on public and protected lands attract a total of 1,717,927 visitors annually. These visitors had an estimated economic impact on the region’s economy of $46,207,000 and supported 980 jobs. Furthermore, all outdoor recreational activities, including both those that rely on public and protected lands and those that rely on private lands, attracted a total of 2,496,753 visitors. These visitors had an estimated economic impact of $114,768,000 on the region’s economy and supported 2,413 jobs.

“This economic impact study confirms with hard data the exceptional economic potential of this landscape of mountains, forests, streams, farmland and villages,” said Kathy Nolan, chair of the Catskill Heritage Alliance. “It shows the choice before us in dollar terms: erode what nature gave us and undermine our economic sustainability, or build on the potential to strengthen the economic future of the region.”

“The new numbers confirm what we’ve known for a long time,” echoed Ramsay Adams, founder and executive director of Catskill Mountainkeeper. “The natural beauty of our region is a unique, world-class asset.”

Carter Strickland, the commissioner of the DEP, which employs nearly 1,000 people in the watershed, said, “We are proud that our efforts to encourage recreation throughout the watershed have strengthened the tourism economy that has been a hallmark of the Catskills for decades. New York City currently owns 114,833 acres in the Catskills that are open for fishing, hiking, boating and other forms of low impact recreation that attract people from other regions of the state and country. In the past five years alone, we have removed the permit requirements from 52,198 acres of that recreation land, making it even easier for our neighbors and visitors to enjoy.”

The economic impacts generated by recreational activities, and of the operations of organizations that protect and manage the natural areas of the Catskills, were estimated using the Money Generation Model (MGM) economic impact. These models were developed for the National Park Service and have been used for similar evaluations of many parks around the country.  READ THE ENTIRE RIVER REPORTER ARTICLE HERE

WATCH THE VIDEO PRESENTATION BY STUDY AUTHOR BRIAN ZWEIG,  KATHY NOLAN FROM MOUNTAINKEEPER AND OUR OTHER STUDY PARTNERS.