Informal Trails Webinar
On Wednesday, October 19th Mountainkeeper hosted a webinar all about informal trail networks in our region and how they damage local ecosystems. We were thrilled to see nearly 170 individuals tune in for this great conversation, and if you missed it you can watch a full recorded version. We heard from experts in the field, including researchers at the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the New York Natural Heritage Program, and the United States Geological Survey, as they discussed the state of trailless peaks in the Catskills, and visitor use management plans to address them. Informal trails made by hikers put considerable strain on the health and wellbeing of native wildlife and plants, causing harmful impacts like loss of native vegetation, soil compaction, erosion, forest fragmentation, and introduction of invasive species into interior forest habitats. Want to know more about informal trails and their impact? Visit the DEC’s webpage for more information.
Disadvantaged Communities Information Session
On Tuesday, June 28th, we partnered with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and New York State Energy and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to hold a Disadvantaged Communities Information Session via Zoom. During this webinar, Mountainkeeper’s own Environmental Justice Coordinator, Taylor Jaffe, discussed the ins and outs of the DAC criteria with panelists Adriana Espinoza, DEC’s Deputy Commissioner for Equity and Justice, Tyler Picard, a Project Manager at NYSERDA, and Christopher Coll, Director of Energy Affordability and Equity Program at NYSERDA.
A crucial part of Mountainkeeper’s work is upholding environmental justice and protecting people from a variety of environmental hazards–like tainted drinking water, polluted air, and waste contamination, among others–that pose serious risks to the health and safety of our communities. These hazards are endemic in underserved, low-income communities, reflecting the ongoing racial and socioeconomic injustice in our society; identifying DACs is a core component of addressing and correcting these injustices.
If you missed this important webinar, you can watch a full recording here.
New York's Climate Plan and You: Understanding the Plan and How to Influence It
Environmental Justice in the Catskills Webinar
Mountainkeeper's Environmental Justice (EJ) Coordinator Taylor Jaffe led a fascinating webinar to help raise awareness and broaden understanding of EJ in our region. EJ means making sure that communities of every race, color, and income status receive the same protection from environmental and health hazards, and have equal access to the decision-making process about projects and policies impacting their lives.
Fighting for and upholding EJ has always been a crucial part of Mountainkeeper’s work to protect people from a variety of environmental hazards–like tainted drinking water, polluted air, and waste contamination, among others–that pose serious risks to the health and safety of our communities. These hazards are endemic in underserved, low-income communities, reflecting the ongoing racial and socioeconomic injustice in our society.
If you missed this important discussion, you can watch a full recording of the event by clicking below!
Catskills 2022: Challenges & Opportunities
Protecting wilderness in the Catskill Region and fighting for environmental justice in our communities takes input from legislators and community members alike. To start the new year off right, Catskill Mountainkeeper hosted a webinar on February 15th, 2022 to connect key New York State decision makers with our friends and supporters. During this webinar, we explored specific obstacles facing our region, possible solutions to pressing problems, and actions we all can take to help enhance life in the Catskills and protect everything that makes this region so special. Our panelists included:
- Senator Michelle Hinchey;
- NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Deputy Commissioner of Natural Resources, Katie Petronis;
- Assemblymember Aileen Gunther;
- Assemblymember Kevin Cahill;
- Assemblymember Chris Tague;
- Assemblymember Brian Miller; and
- Jeff Senterman, The Catskill Center.
Wild Wonders: Celebrating the Native Plants of the Catskills
The wild forests and mountain ranges of the Catskills are home to a plethora of unique and interesting native plant species. On February 15th, 2022 Catskill Mountainkeeper joined experts on our native ecology for a virtual tour of Mountain Top Arboretum, and a conversation about where to purchase native plants and how to introduce them around our homes. Our panelists for this webinar were:
- Marc Wolf, Director of Mountain Top Arboretum; and
- John Thompson, Catskill Regional Invasive Species Partnership (CRISP) Coordinator at the Catskill Center.
Click "Read More" for a fantastic resource list, native plants list, and responses to all the questions we weren't able to answer due to time constraints.
Read moreThe Jumping Worm Invasion
https://fb.watch/9WY51UcAam/
You can also find additional jumping worm resources, compiled by our expert panelists, here.
Forest Pests Webinar
What's eating the Catskills? Invasive pests! In this webinar with the experts form Mountainkeeper, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, New York State Hemlock Initiative, and the Monitoring and Managing Ash project, we dig deep into the hemlock woolly adelgid and the emerald ash borer. Watch this webinar from August 2021 to find out more about the bugs and what you can do to help!
850 Route 28 - Environmental
A critically important gateway to the Catskill Park is being threatened by a proposed steel and concrete fabrication plant in the Town of Kingston. An application filed by 850 Route 28 LLC to build this facility raises multiple questions about how to conduct a fair and comprehensive environmental review under New York’s State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). This webinar from June 2021 explores how the SEQRA process should proceed, and how citizens can use SEQRA to hold 850 Route 28 LLC accountable.
Ticked Off: Everything You Need to Know About Ticks
Ticks are everywhere. It’s hard to find someone in our region who doesn’t have a story about pulling one off themselves, their child, or their pet. But why are ticks’ habitat growing? What kinds of ticks live in New York? What diseases do they carry and what can we do to protect ourselves? Mountainkeeper dug in to this discussion with an expert panel, including our partners at Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies and the Catskill Center. Learn more in this webinar from May 2021!