FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE01-06
March
19, 2001
Contact: Geoff Ryan
(718/595-6600)
Progress
Report On Watershed Model Forest Program
Commissioner Joel A. Miele Sr., P.E., of the New York City Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP); Brian Fisher, Director of the Watershed Agricultural
Council's Watershed Forestry Program (WAC-WFP); and René Germain, Coordinator
of the Model Forest Program, reported today on progress with forestry research
at the Mink Hollow Model Forest, a 502-acre City-owned property in the Town
of Woodstock. The property was acquired in October 1998 under the City's Land
Acquisition and Stewardship Program, and is one of four sites selected by
WAC to be part of the New York City Watershed Model Forest Program.
"We at DEP are pleased to provide our lands for such beneficial, cooperative
research and education initiatives as the Watershed Model Forest Program,"
said Commissioner Miele. "This partnership project, and others like it,
will be of immense value for anyone managing forest resources in the watershed
and beyond."
"The Model Forest Program is a component of WAC's Watershed Forestry
Program, which provides education and outreach to foresters, landowners, loggers,
and other potential stewards about long-term forest management in the watersheds
of public reservoirs," according to Brian Fisher of WAC. "The Program
is designed to research and demonstrate how environmental quality and protection
can be balanced with economic development. As a long-term institutional resource
for anyone involved in management of public or private forests, the Model
Forests will enable people to become well-informed stewards of forests within
the context of a working landscape."
In 2000, a forest inventory crew consisting of students from the College
of Environmental Science and Forestry at State University of New York - Syracuse
spent two-and-a-half months establishing a continuous forest inventory system
at the Mink Hollow Model Forest. With the assistance of a DEP Forest Ecologist
and several summer interns, this crew established over 220 forest inventory
plots. The inventory system will consist of a 10 percent area sample, using
1/24-acre permanent fixed plots. The sampling protocol is consistent with
the federal Forest Service's multi-resource Forest Health Monitoring system
and, therefore, will be widely applicable to research efforts in the Catskill
Region and in other areas around the state and the Northeast. Inventory work,
which will continue this summer, will be followed by a detailed Model Forest
Plan and ultimately by individual forest research and demonstration projects.
"Our forest inventory will provide important baseline data by which
to monitor changes in forest conditions, both man-made and natural,"
said Rene¢ Germain, the SUNY-ESF professor directing the project. "This
baseline information is critical to our research and education goals. The
New York City Watershed Model Forests will serve as working laboratories for
studying the impacts of forest management on water quality and for transferring
ideas to forest resource managers, as well as the general public."
"We are confident that a well-managed, working forest landscape can
contribute significantly to water quality protection and rural economic prosperity,"
said Mr. Fisher.
"Not only has the City contributed an outstanding site for forestry
research," said Commissioner Miele, "it also has made the Model
Forest area available for public recreation. Interested parties, who obtain
a City Hiking Permit at no charge, are welcome to hike at the Mink Hollow
area and 17 other City-owned sites in the watershed. A word of caution to
hikers, however, is that Mink Hollow has steep slopes, which can be quite
a challenge."
Information about New York City Hiking Permits, as well as Fishing Permits,
may be obtained DEP's Web site (www.nyc.gov/dep) or by phoning 1-800-575-LAND
(1-800-575-5263).
Hiking
Permits Available
New York City Hiking Permits, as well as City Fishing Permits, may be obtained
at DEP's permit offices in the watersheds and in New York City. Applications
for Hiking Permits may be downloaded from DEP's Website (www.nyc.gov/dep);
they also will be sent by mail to those who phone 1-800-575-LAND (1-800-575-5263).
Applications will also be available at municipal offices of the towns in which
lands are located -- Kent, Middletown, Neversink, Olive, Shandaken, Windham
and Woodstock. Copies of detailed site maps and hiking regulations will be
given to all permit holders.
The City's Hiking and Fishing Permit offices are open from 8:00 AM to 4:00
PM, Tuesday through Saturday, March 15th through October 15th, at the following
watershed locations:
Croton System Office
1 Belden Road and Route 6
Carmel, NY 10512
914/232-1309
|
Catskill District Office
Route 28A
Shokan, NY 12468
914/657-2663 |
|
|
Delaware District Office
(Sullivan County)
Route 42
Grahamsville, NY 12740
914/985-2524 & 7749 |
Delaware District Office
(Delaware County)
Route 30
Downsville, NY 13755
607/363-7009 & 7010
|
The following Hiking and Fishing Permit Offices in New York City are open
during normal business hours, Monday through Friday:
NYCDEP
Customer & Conservation Services
1250 Broadway (8th Floor)
New York, NY 10001
212/643-2215 |
NYCDEP
One-Stop Center (First Floor)
96-05 Horace Harding Expressway
Corona, NY 11368
718/595-7778 |