Help Preserve and Protect Natural Resources While Enjoying the Outdoors

The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics and its Traveling Trainer team will be at the Peekamoose Blue Hole in New York on Friday, August 18th with NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC), ADK (Adirondack Mountain Club), NYC Department of Environmental Conservation (NYC DEP), New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, the Catskill Conservation Corps, the Catskill Center, and the Ashokan-Pepacton Watershed Chapter of Trout Unlimited to remove trash and learn about how to reduce impacts in the outdoors.

Scenic and popular areas such as the Blue Hole have experienced visitor-created impacts in recent years including excessive trash, social impacts, damage to vegetation and trees and trail erosion. 

“The cumulative impact of so many people enjoying a great park or beautiful public recreation area can negatively effect that place,” according to Andy Mossey, Leave No Trace Traveling Trainer. “In most cases, the land impact isn’t due to a malicious intent to harm nature and wildlife. Instead, it’s simply lack of Leave No Trace education and practices.”    

"Visitors and their economic impact are important to our Catskill communities, but it is equally important that visitors understand their potential negative impacts on natural resources and learn how to protect the Catskills for generations to come. The Catskill Mountains are home to important ecosystems, hundreds of thousands of acres of Forever Wild Forest Preserve lands, and 90% of New York City's watershed. The efforts of Leave No Trace to improve the condition at Blue Hole with the Hot Spot Program is just the forward-thinking approach necessary to bring about lasting protection to this critical natural resource." Said Jeff Senterman Executive Director, The Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, Inc. (Catskill Center)

“The wild and unspoiled character of the swimming hole known as the Peekamoose Blue Hole is in jeopardy because of overuse and misuse. Leave No Trace education will help address both issues,” said Neil Woodworth, Executive Director of ADK.

"Nature attracts everybody and our challenge is to help everybody respect nature." Edward Goodell, Executive Director, New York-New Jersey Trail Conference.

"‎Visitors to our incredible natural resources have an important role to play in helping to keep them maintained and protected for others to enjoy," said Kelly Turturro, Regional Director for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. "We're proud to partner with these groups to help clean up these environmental jewels and inspire more conservation stewards in the area."

Events like these are key components of the Leave No Trace Hot Spot program, that engages community and brings solutions to popular natural areas around the country facing heavy recreational use and consequently, the threat of harm to trails, parks and open space areas. The Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers are experts that travel throughout the country providing public education on how to effectively ‘Leave No Trace’ in a fun and interactive way for all ages.

WHAT: Join the Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers and NYS DEC, NYC DEP, ADK, Catskill Conservation Corps, NY-NJ Trail Conference, Trout Unlimited and the Catskill Center for a Site Clean-Up at the Peekamoose Blue Hole
WHEN: Friday, August 18th from 9:00 am-12:00pm
WHERE: Peekamoose Blue Hole

RSVP: Current Clean up event is full, but please register for a future clean up event in September: www.catskillconservationcorps.org   

Visit http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/109922.html and https://www.adk.org/leave-no-trace-hot-spot-week-peekamoose-blue-hole/ to learn more about the upcoming events planned with DEC and the Traveling Trainers.  

 

About Leave No Trace
The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics in a national nonprofit organization that protects the outdoors by teaching people how to enjoy it responsibly. Their Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers are mobile teams of educators that visit 48 states every year delivering Leave No Trace programs such as Hot Spots to over 15 million people. For more information, visit: www.LNT.org.