ARKVILLE, NY – February 20, 2020 - Created in 2018 by the Catskill Center (in collaboration with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation) to assist in managing high-use at the Peekamoose Blue Hole, the Catskill Stewards Program’s 2019 season expanded to station Stewards at three popular Catskill destinations — the Peekamoose Blue Hole, Kaaterskill Falls and the Platte Clove Preserve.

Trained by Catskill Center, on-site Catskill Stewards answer questions from the public about the Park, its natural resources and communities. The Stewards help re-direct visitors from these very popular areas into the rest of the Park and offer advice on everything from where to go swimming to where to find lunch.

The growth of the Catskill Stewards Program in 2019 created a tremendous increase in the number of Catskill Park visitors the Stewards were able to interact with. At the three locations, the Catskill Center employed four full-time stewards, one part-time steward, and a program coordinator. The expanded program allowed Stewards to reach more than 50,000 visitors to the Catskill Park.

Increasingly, outdoor recreation on Catskill Park public lands is an important economic driver for the region. In the Economic Valuation Study for Public Lands in the Central Catskills (Brian Zweig, December 2019), researchers found that annually more than 1.7 million people visit public lands in the Catskills, spend more than $75 million and generate more than 840 jobs for the region. In addition, visitorship overall to the Catskills has been increasing, reaching more than 12 million according to New York State tourism data. The Catskill Stewards Program was designed to ensure the natural resources of the Catskill Park are protected, while engaging with and educating visitors to the Park about ways to responsibly enjoy the region and ensure that the natural beauty they came to see exists for future generations.

“When we created the Catskill Stewards Program, the goal was to engage with and educate an ever-increasing number of Park visitors in a friendly, non-confrontational way,” says Jeff Senterman, Executive Director of the Catskill Center. “The Catskill Park isn’t a traditional park and we see our Catskill Stewards as a key piece of Park infrastructure to educate visitors about Leave No Trace principles, the responsible use of our outdoor resources and about the Park and its communities in general.”

For the 2020 season, the Catskill Center is planning for the future, by taking into consideration the expected increase in visitors and the unique challenges and opportunities of the Catskill Park. This is why, the 2020 Catskill Steward season will focus on additional public educational programs, alongside additional staff at a new location. The Catskill Stewards Program will now host a weekend steward at the Mountain Top Historical Society in Haines Falls, as well as the previous locations at the Blue Hole, Kaaterskill Falls, and Platte Clove Preserve.

“We’re thrilled to be expanding our Catskill Stewards Program with a new partnership with the Mountain Top Historical Society,” says Senterman. “At the Mountain Top Historical Society our Steward will be able to assist their volunteers, while educating hundreds of visitors a day who utilize the Kaaterskill Rail Trail to visit Kaaterskill Falls. This will be a win, win, win situation for the Historical Society, the Catskill Center and our Catskill Park!”

In 2018, the deliberate and coordinated efforts between the NYSDEC staff, NYSDEC Forest Rangers, volunteers, outside organizations, towns and the Catskill Stewards, kept the three locations within the Catskill Park cleaner, greener, and more welcoming than ever before. In 2019:

• Visitor engagement reach of over 53,187 people

• Over 230 bags of litter collected (~ 4,600 lbs.)

• Fire rings deconstructed - 25 - sites rehabilitated

• Rock dams deconstructed - 11

• Rock stacks removed - 302

• Total days at each location - 158

• Dogs greeted - 1,326

• Visitor parking citations avoided - 596 (minimum)

While each stewarding location has its own specific needs, similar natural resources are common. Water bodies, riparian areas, trail systems, flora, and fauna are consistently in danger of being trampled or harmfully impacted by a growing visitor population. The Catskill Stewards have become such a vital link to the visitation experience. Without their on-site presence, litter increases, rock dams and stacks are built in the streams, and user-created trails begin to wander through pristine forest.

In addition to protecting the natural resources of each location and the greater Catskill Park, the Catskill Stewards are trained to assist NYSDEC Forest Rangers when accidents and incidents occur. The Stewards receive Wilderness First Aid and CPR training and certification, travel to the Adirondacks to train with the Adirondack Summit Stewards, and receive training by the NYSDEC and the Catskill Center

“We’re proud of our Catskill Stewards and all that they have accomplished in the last two seasons,” says Andy Mossey, Catskill Center Advocacy & Stewardship Coordinator, “I am looking forward to managing our expanded program in 2020 and reaching even more visitors to the Catskill Park. Our engagement with the public makes a real difference in terms of natural resource protection, public safety and moving visitors deeper into the Park from just the very busy areas.”

The Catskills Stewardship Program is made possible by the generous support of the Rondout Neversink Stream Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, REI Co-op, Bruderhof, Hunter Foundation, Catskill Mountain Club, Catskill 3500 Club and the generous supporters of the Catskill Center.

For more information about the Catskill Stewards Program and to read the Program’s 2019 Annual report, visit catskillcenter.org/catskillstewardsprogram.

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