Summer in the Catskills is fantastic, filled with terrific concerts, farmers markets, hikes, events for learning, and endless opportunities to get outside and play in nature. Read on for info about great upcoming events on Catskill Mountainkeeper’s calendar, and invite you to join us in celebrating everything that makes the Catskills so special and worth protecting.

Please mark your calendar, and share these events on social media to spread the word. Also, head over to our Facebook page, tag us on Twitter, or DM us on Instagram to share the events you’re excited about. We love sharing all the great Catskills happenings!

See you out there!

Ramsay Adams, Executive Director

New York made global history this week when we moved a monumental piece of legislation that will make us leaders in the response to the climate crisis. Under this law, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, by 2050 all of our electricity will be fossil-fuel free, we’ll have drastically cut harmful air pollution, and we’ll be investing in natural climate solutions while moving towards climate justice. Email key legislators today and thank them for supporting the bill.

Late last night, Governor Cuomo, Assembly Speaker Heastie, and Senator Stewart Cousins came to a historic agreement to fight the climate crisis. The Climate and Community Protection Act:

✅Sets the highest standards in the US for cutting emissions
✅ Invests 35%-40% of climate $ in frontline communities
✅ Supports workers in transition

An unpermitted construction and demolition debris dump in Saugerties is raising environmental and community concerns. This dump, located on Route 212, Fel Qui Rd, and Goat Hill Rd, has been cited for environmental violations and was issued a stop-work order earlier this year by the Town of Saugerties based on its questionable operations. 

Catskill Mountainkeeper is calling on the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to do everything in its power to shut the dump down. We need swift action to protect our community and our environment. Our petition will be delivered to DEC Commissioner Seggos and Regional Director Turturro.

Click here to sign and share with friends!

On Wednesday, April 10, President Trump signed an executive order attempting to fast-track permits and approvals for oil and gas pipelines in a direct attack on states’ rights to block dirty and dangerous fossil fuel projects. If he gets his way projects like the Constitution Pipeline--a pipeline that would have damaged important rivers, streams, and wetlands in New York while threatening drinking water quality for thousands of New Yorkers--could be approved.

New Yorkers will not stand by and let the President fast-track pipelines that should not be built, and Catskill Mountainkeeper will fight to protect our communities, just as we did when we fought in the streets and in the courts to stop the Constitution Pipeline before. 

Dear Kelly --

The clock is ticking. We can’t wait for good, green jobs, healthy air and water, and a just transition off of dirty and dangerous fossil fuels. That's why Catskill Mountainkeeper is joining our friends and allies in Albany on April 9th to call on the legislature to pass the Climate and Community Protection Act this legislative session.

We need to show that there’s a mass movement of people who want bold, equity focused climate legislation NOW.

Join us for a #ClimateJusticeCountdown day of action in Albany, on April 9, to demand our legislators bring the CCPA to a vote!

We know the votes are there: a majority of New York State Senators have signed on as co-sponsors, and the New York State Assembly has passed this bill three times. But there’s still a risk they won’t bring the Climate and Community Protection Act to the floor.

Plastic bags kill. That sounds like a drastic statement, but it's true--when plastic bags get loose in our communities, they strangle wildlife, are ingested by fish and other animals, and break down into microplastics that pollute waterways and food sources, causing illness and death. These bags are made from petrochemicals--oil and oil derivatives, which are produced using highly polluting drilling and chemical processes. Call New York State Assembly Speaker Heastie today at 518-455-3791 and tell him you support a plastic bag ban with a disposable bag fee.

Almost a third of the food we eat every day relies on pollinators, mostly bees, but also birds, butterflies, bats, beetles, moths, and flies. Bees and other pollinators are vital to stable and plentiful food supplies, a healthy environment, and a strong economy.

But populations of New York State honeybees and other pollinators are crashing at an alarming rate. The causes include the use of harmful pesticides and fungicides, the spread of viral pathogens and parasitic mites in beehives, loss of habitat, and the effects of climate change. If we don’t act right now to address this collapse, it will soon be too late. 

Read on to learn more about the problem and how Mountainkeeper is helping.

Dear Friend --

Earlier this week, NJ Governor Murphy made an amazing announcement--he will vote for a complete ban on fracking in the Delaware River Basin. Now Governor Cuomo needs to hear from you. Sign our petition calling on Governor Cuomo to vote for a complete ban on fracking and all its related activities in the Delaware River Basin.

Sign the Petition Today!

I'm writing to share some great news--Global Companies is backing away from its proposal to build a boiler to process a tar sands oil facility at the Port of Albany. This facility would have handled some of the dirtiest and most energy-intensive oil in the world. 

Beyond the clear environmental risks, this project would have exposed residents of the low-income Ezra Prentice Homes to big increases in levels of toxins, harmful odors, and noise, and to the risk of potentially deadly accidents.