43rd Annual Meeting

The Catskill Center’s 43^rd Annual Meeting is coming up on Saturday, July 21. This year, we wanted to do something a little different.

There are many issues of great concern in the region and underlying all of this was the flooding events of 2011. To address these concerns, we  look forward to using the Catskill Center’s  Annual Meeting as an opportunity to present the State of the Catskills. We have invited several very qualified speakers to provide factual updates on some of the Catskills’ most pressing issues.

Graydon Dutcher, of Delaware County Soil and Water Conservation District, will discuss the status of the flood recovery in Catskill communities and for Catskill ecosystems. Eric Goldstein of the Natural Resources Defense Council will provide an update on hydrofracking.  I will address the state of the Forest Preserve both from and ecological perspective and from a management standpoint. I can also announce that Joe Kelly, Board Member of the Olympic Regional Development Authority, will be here to discuss the transition to new management at the Belleayre Ski Center.

We will also gain the insight of Congressman Maurice Hinchey, whose career in public service for this region spans over 30 years. We look forward to hearing his views on the Catskills as we dedicate the Catskill Interpretive Center in his honor.

The SOLART Project, the new solar array at the Erpf Center, will be unveiled at the Annual Meeting. This installation, a collaborative effort of the MARK Project and the Roxbury Arts Group, combines sculpture and landscape design with a 13-panel solar array.

This year’s Annual Meeting promises to be an informative event. I truly hope you can make it.