What's Mud Season?
From the Albany Times Union--“The best way to keep the Catskills thriving when you’re out in the woods during this time of year is to stay on the trail and choose trails that were constructed for people to be out on,” Catskill Mountainkeeper Deputy Director Katherine Nadeau said. “If you’ve got the right footwear, if you’re prepared, the best thing to do is walk right through it. It’s mud season. Enjoy.”
Check out Mountainkeeper's page with tips and trick for handling mud season and read the full article at the Albany Times Union.
Opinion: On Route 17, adding more lanes is not the answer
Ramsay Adams for the Albany Times Union: “If you build it, they will come.” This saying is true whether you’re describing fans flocking to a baseball diamond or cars clogging highways. And for New York, that’s a problem.
Read the full piece at the Albany Times Union.
Stop 'Bomb Trains'
From the River Reporter: Sign the Catskill Mountainkeeper petition telling President Biden and United States Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to keep “bomb trains” carrying highly explosive liquefied natural gas (LNG) out of our communities.
Transporting LNG by train is extremely dangerous—just 22 rail cars carrying LNG contain the energy equivalent of a nuclear bomb. These trains expose residents to air pollution and bring volatile, explosive cargo within throwing distance from families’ homes. The margin for error when transporting LNG by rail is paper thin, and even the slightest accident would result in tragedy.
Read moreWhat haunts me — and should haunt all of NY — about neonic pesticides
Kathy Nolan, MD, for the Poughkeepsie Journal — Those who don’t learn from history generally repeat it.
That’s what worries me as we continue to learn more about neonicotinoid pesticides or “neonics,” the nicotine-like chemicals that are now the most used insecticides nationwide. Specifically, I’m haunted by the echoes of our unfortunate history with DDT—the long-banned neurotoxic insecticide whose multigenerational harms to wildlife and people we are only still beginning to appreciate.
Kathy Nolan, MD, is Catskill Mountainkeeper's Senior Research Director, president of the Physicians for Social Responsibility, New York Chapter, a member of the Ulster County Legislature, and a pediatrician. Read her full opinion piece at the Poughkeepsie Journal.
Concerns Over Terramor Glamping Site
From the Times Union: SAUGERTIES — With more than 500 campsites in the U.S. and Canada, no one knows camping better than Kampgrounds of America. Now, the world’s largest camping company is hoping to tap into the growing glamping market with Terramor Catskills, a 77-acre wooded property in Saugerties near the town border with Woodstock. But the project is not without controversy.
Read morePlanning for the Catskill Park's Future
From the Capitol Pressroom: Catskill Center for Conservation and Development Executive Director Jeff Senterman and Catskill Mountainkeeper Katherine Nadeau discuss new recommendations designed to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Catskill Park.
Catskill Advisory Group Calls for Better Park Management
From the Times Union: HUNTER — A report released by a governmental advisory group suggests the 700,000-acre Catskill Park must be managed more intensively to deal with the deluge of new visitors since the beginning of the pandemic.
Read moreCatskill Mountainkeeper Calls on Governor to Protect Native American Burial Sites
Midhudson News, November 27, 2022 - HURLEYVILLE - “Burial sites are sacred places; they hold beloved and revered ancestors’ remains, as well as culturally significant funerary items,” said Katherine Nadeau, Mountainkeeper deputy director. “They’re located throughout New York State, wherever Native peoples gathered together, and many are unmarked, leaving them vulnerable to developers backhoes, looting, and desecration.” Click Read More to see the full piece.
Read moreHughes Energy Conversation Continues
By Joseph Abraham, MONTICELLO –– ..Wes Gillingham, Associate Director of Catskill Mountainkeeper, challenged [Hughes Energy Chief Executive Officer] McSpedon’s answer to the Assemblywoman’s question, believing the problem lies in a lack of information, calling a lot of what Hughes was saying “misleading.” Furthermore, Gillingham claimed that the DEC has continually asked Hughes Energy for more information and that the company has yet to submit an Environmental Impact Statement for their proposed project in Roxbury, Delaware County. Click "read more" to read the full piece.
Read more...Voters across New York state approved a $4.2 billion environmental bond measure during last week’s midterm elections that is intended to bolster climate mitigation and land preservation projects. But while the act has been applauded by environmentalists, many are calling on New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) to do even more now that she has won her first full term as governor.
The bond act “is a beginning, not the end. We need an ongoing commitment to funding environmental justice and climate justice and climate solutions,” said Katherine Nadeau, the deputy director of Catskill Mountainkeeper. “If we don't put substantial funding into our communities, the consequences will be dire.” Click 'read more' to see the full piece.
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