With its long-protected forests and shadowed hollows called “cloves,” the Catskills region is one of New York state”™s most ecologically diverse and vital. It is also perennially poor and has been hard hit by the recession.
But a new study indicates there is one valuable commodity the region possesses in abundance and it is the one thing, as Mark Twain noted, they are not making anymore: land.
The Catskills ”“ a rogue chain distinct in geology from its Appalachian neighbors and running from Sullivan to Greene counties ”“ contains 10 times the land needed to support population expectations through 2035, a new study by the Manhattan-based Open Space Institute said. The report suggests growth can occur without negatively affecting open-space resources.
The findings were released recently as part of “Private Lands, Public Benefits,” a study by Open Space Institute that identifies more than 520,000 acres of privately owned land without physical impediments, restrictions against development or important open-space resources. The half million-plus acres it identifies as “preferred growth areas” are significantly more than would be needed to accommodate population growth estimates of approximately 4 percent over the next 25 years.
The report”™s maps, analysis and appendices could help officials in the four counties it examines ”“ Sullivan, Ulster, Greene and Delaware ”“ as they try to attract sustainable development “that will increase the region”™s prosperity while protecting the wildlife, agricultural and recreational resources that make the Catskills a desirable place to live.”
“This report presents an analysis that can help balanced and sustainable development in our region become a reality,” said Jonathan Drapkin, president and CEO of Pattern for Progress, in a written statement. “OSI”™s study identifies areas where there is the potential for a ”˜win-win”™ between conservation and development. That synergy is critical to assuring development can occur in a timely and efficient manner while serving the greatest long-term interests of Catskill residents and businesspeople.”
“Private Lands, Public Benefits” also highlights the important role private landowners will play in protecting Catskill open space resources. OSI”™s research shows that 68 percent of the region”™s water, habitat, agricultural and recreational resources are found on privately owned acres, many buffering the publicly owned Catskill Park, and the organization”™s report emphasizes those owners”™ role, along with town and county planners and other decision-makers, in determining where growth occurs.
Individually, for each of the four counties, the report found:
- Ulster County is the most developed of the four counties (7 percent of its land area). It also contains the most conserved lands (32 percent) and the least amount of preferred growth area (11 percent).
- Eighty-three percent of Sullivan County”™s open-space resources are in private ownership. The county also contains the greatest percentage (30 percent) of preferred growth area in the region, much of it concentrated in the center of the county alongside existing infrastructure like schools, roads, water and sewer services, and emergency facilities.
- Delaware County is the least developed of the four counties (only 4 percent of its land) and, despite significant regulatory and physical obstacles, it can increase development more than 6.5 times without directly affecting its open-space resources.
- Twenty-four percent of Greene County is already conserved. Six percent of the county is developed and it contains enough preferred growth area to triple that figure.
Overall, the four-county Catskill region encompasses 2.7 million acres, 530,000 of which are already conserved and 140,000 of which are developed. After accounting for state and federal zoning regulations and physical obstacles, the report said, the region still contains “more than 520,000 acres within which development could occur without negatively impacting the 1.6 million acres of significant open-space resources.”
“The Catskill region, from the Shawangunks to the Catskill Park, has been adored for generations for its natural resources, but it”™s also home for tens of tens of thousands of people who need to make a living,” said OSI CEO Kim Elliman. “For decades, the Catskills has looked for drivers for economic development. It is clear that well-placed, sustainable development is essential alongside conservation to assure a healthy future that supports the residents of this region while respecting and protecting its incomparable natural beauty.”
Through acquisition, conservation easements, creative partnerships and research, the OSI has to date protected more than 100,000 acres in New York state and assisted in preserving another 1.7 million acres in other East Coast states.
