Everything is now open at Mohonk Preserve
Mohonk Preserve has completed its phased reopening with the opening of the Coxing Trailhead and resumption of rock climbing, bouldering and horseback riding.
New Paltz Times | Nature & Environment
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Life returns to the Shawangunk waters with easing of acidification
Many of the ponds and lakes in the Shawangunks, Catskills and Adirondacks were what was known as “dead lakes” in the decades prior to the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act of 1970 which regulated sulfur emissions from coal-fired power plants.
Mohonk Preserve continues to track weather data despite absence of volunteers
“What’s crazy to me is that we were eight degrees above average this March, and it’s not a record-breaking month! When you’re eight degrees above the 124-year average and you’re the sixth warmest on record, that’s wild,” said Dr. Elizabeth Long, director of conservation science at the Daniel Smiley Research Center.
Exploring the Shaupeneak Ridge in Esopus
While every imaginable event has been canceled, closed or postponed until further notice, the one thing that remains constant and steady and available is the great outdoors. There are endless opportunities here.
DEC closes Kaaterskill Falls access, citing need for social distancing
The falls, viewing platform, and access trails are relatively small areas that are currently concentrating persons together, preventing safe social distancing at the site, said the DEC.
Trail traversing former Williams Lake Property made permanent part of Wallkill Valley Rail Trail
The trail has been open for a while and if you’re a rail trail regular, you’ve probably walked it. The new agreement makes what was a temporary agreement permanent.
DEC says mountain lion trail-cam photo “a fake”
A photo seeming to show a mountain lion that a local man claimed was taken in Esopus has been declared “a fake” by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
‘Secrets of the Shawangunks’ lecture series begins February 6
Topics include: Bouldering and Biology; Forest Bathing; Fishers Past & Present; and Enhancing Visitor Experience Through Wayfinding. All lectures are free.
Partnership aims to improve cross-country trails in New Paltz
The Open Space Institute has announced a new partnership with the Shawangunk Nordic Ski Association, to maintain cross country skiing paths at its River-to-Ridge Trail. The grooming will provide consistent trail conditions and improve the public’s access to the land during winter months, conditions permitting.
The American Chestnut can bloom again — with your help
Once in while, an opportunity arises to reverse environmental damage wrought by humankind. Such appears to be the case with SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry’s three-decades-long endeavor to restore to the landscape the majestic, near-extinct American chestnut tree.