December 10, 2019--

Environmental Groups Urge Governor Cuomo to Sign Green Bills

Albany—Today a group of leading environmental organizations gathered in support of various legislation that has not yet been signed into law. This year, the New York State Senate and Assembly passed more environmental legislation than has been passed in over a decade. While many bills have been signed into law, Governor Cuomo has just 22 days in which to sign outstanding measures that would lead to cleaner water and air, and a less toxic environment

Catskill Mountainkeeper

“New York passed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) and Governor Cuomo embraced the law when he signed it this summer," said Wes Gillingham, Catskill Mountainkeeper's Associate Director. “Now it's time for the Governor to sign the CLCPA's companion bill into law and make the most ambitious climate act in the country the law of the land.”

TravelStorys App provides free GPS guided tours that share the stories of the Catskills

LIVINGSTON MANOR and ARKVILLE, NY – The stories of the citizens and settlers of the Catskills illustrate the uniqueness of the region, and today Catskill Mountainkeeper and the Catskill Center release new TravelStorys audio tours that allow listeners to hear the stories of the Catskills as they travel at the pace of their own curiosity.

The Gateway to the Catskills: Livingston Manor, Roscoe and more! and Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway audio tours are both available through the free TravelStorys app (available for download on smartphones). TravelStorys bringsthe little-known stories about the land to life, and by using GPS technology, stories on the tours automatically play as listeners pass through each site.

SAUGERTIES, NY – On July 1 and July 2, 2019 the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) issued two Notices of Violation ordering the owners of three illegal dump sites in Saugerties, NY to shut down operations and begin removing all the waste on the sites. According to the notice, the dumping sites violated state clean water and solid waste laws and regulations 39 times, putting neighbors and waterways at risk.

In response, Catskill Mountainkeeper issued the following statement:

According to the Notices of Violation, Joseph and Rachel Karolys must shut down their illegal dumping sites and safely dispose of the waste they’ve been accepting for years. This is a huge victory for the neighbors who have been fighting to protect their community and local waterways from the dumps and we look forward to seeing the waste moved to a location where it can be properly managed.

Catskill Mountainkeeper is grateful for the Department of Environmental Conservation’s strong response, sending a clear message that New York will not stand for this type of criminal activity. We also applaud the Town of Saugerties for their swift and steady action throughout this effort and all the elected officials who spoke up on neighbors’ behalf. Mountainkeeper calls on the State Supreme Court to expedite its pending review of this situation.

This is a huge victory and proof that by working together we can protect our Catskills communities.

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Catskill Mountainkeeper Supports Governor Cuomo’s Call for a Ban on Single Use Plastic Bags, Calls for Fees on Other Single Use Bags

LIVINGSTON MANOR, NY – Sunday afternoon, Governor Cuomo announced his commitment to a ban on single use plastic bags in the executive budget as well as a pledge to expand the state’s bottle deposit laws.

November 15, 2018

As economic pressures mount, Catskills’ farms are threatened with closure. FarmHearts, a fund to support family farms, steps in to fill the gaps and the community rallies to support.

Livingston Manor, NY – Catskill Mountainkeeper released a new video about the urgent crisis facing Catskills family farms.  Every day, our region’s small farmers face an uphill battle to produce products sustainably. These farmers are unable to compete with industrial megafarms, have been abandoned by the agricultural co-ops that are supposed to protect them, and are crippled by a broken federal milk pricing system--the tragic result is that many of our small farms are being driven out of business. Mountainkeeper produced the video to build support for a critical new resource to help farmers succeed: the FarmHearts fund.

HeatSmart Ulster•Sullivan (HeatSmart U•S), a state-supported community campaign to help our local home and business owners increase energy efficiency and choose clean heating and cooling systems. Read Catskill Mountainkeeper's press release launching our campaign!

DRBC Release Misleads Public with Underreported Comment Numbers

For Immediate Release: April 10, 2018

National environmental organizations, anti-fracking groups, community organizations, and residents announced today that their members had submitted at least 40,000 comments to the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) in support of a full ban on fracking and all drilling-related activities, including wastewater treatment and water withdrawals. The coalition also submitted a letter signed by 126 groups, representing millions of members, making the same demand.

MEDIA RELEASE

June 13, 2018

The Invasive Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Threatens Catskills’ Keystone Species. Without the Hemlock, Catskills forests, streams, and wildlife will suffer

Livingston Manor, NY – Catskill Mountainkeeper has released a new video highlighting the plight of the hemlock tree—the keystone forest species in the Catskills—as an invasive insect called the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) ravages the trees, sucking the life out of the hemlocks and causing them to die prematurely.

The video, which features vivid drone footage of the Catskills forests and interviews with HWA experts Mark Whitmore, a Forest Entomologist at Cornell University, and Vern Rist a Plant Pathologist and owner of Healthy Plants, Consultation & Service, helps viewers understand what the HWA is and how it kills the hemlocks. The six-minute film details the destruction the HWA can do while also discussing a solution— the introduction of beneficial predators—which scientists are using to fight the HWA. It closes with a call to action for people to become citizen scientists and join with researchers in collecting data about infestations that help determine hot spot locations where we can fight this voracious bug.

April 24, 2018

Livingston Manor, NY – Today the New York State Assembly again passed the Climate and Community Protection Act, a bill that establishes and codifies necessary climate pollution reduction goals, ensures that environmental justice and low income communities long left behind are put front and center in the transition to renewable energy, and prioritizes solid, sustainable jobs.

The following response is attributable to Wes Gillingham, Associate Director.

“Yesterday more than 1,500 people from every corner of New York State marched in Albany asking legislators and the Governor to stop all natural gas infrastructure, move to 100% renewable energy sources, and make polluters pay for the health and environmental impacts their climate pollution has on New Yorkers each and every day. Today the Assembly again led the nation, passing the Climate and Community Protection Act (CCPA). Catskill Mountainkeeper thanks and applauds Assemblyman Englebright and Speaker Heastie for leading our government in the right direction. Now the New York State Senate and Governor Cuomo need to pass and enact the bill so NY can begin a just transition to a new energy paradigm.”

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