LEGISLATURE STUFF - No Va-Va-Voom for VUM

CATSKILL - A report on the future of the Kaaterskill Clove recently issued by the Department of Environmental Conservation has prompted the Greene County Legislature to join opposition to the plan.

Lawmakers, during an April 13 Economic Development committee meeting, were visited by Hunter town supervisor Sean Mahoney.

Mahoney shared the contents of a resolution (subsequently passed by the Hunter town board) calling for DEC to reject the independent study.

“This is a lazy approach, an easy way out that does not deal with any of the issues in the Clove,” Mahoney said. “There is no consideration given to what this will mean to our town, the town of Catskill, the whole county.”

Lawmakers unanimously agreed to not only pass their own resolution against the study but also post information on the county website, encouraging others to sign on and let DEC know their thoughts.

A virtual public hearing is being hosted by DEC on April 29, and in the meantime Mahoney is urging residents to participate via email.

DEC brought in an outside consultant in the wake of torrents of visitors to the Kaaterskill Clove and surrounding areas during the covid pandemic.

“In defense of DEC, this was asked for by the Catskill Advisory Group” and other organizations. “But the result was not asked for,” Mahoney said, emphasizing DEC has not yet enacted the recommendations.

The town of Hunter resolution, passed on April 14, states that a “revised approach” is being sought to the DEC outlook that impacts a significant tourist destination with widespread economic ramifications.

DEC, in their “Visitor Use Management” (VUM) report, “proposes strategies to address increased visitation, congestion and safety concerns.”

Hunter’s resolution states the town “has long been an engaged partner with NYSDEC and has consistently advocated for practical, locally informed solutions to address congestion, parking and safety issues in the Kaaterskill Clove area.

“The VUM report identifies legitimate concerns but proposes management strategies that include restrictive access measures such as reservation systems, timed-entry systems, and visitor caps,” the resolution states, further declaring:

—“Such restrictive access measures are inconsistent with the longstanding principle of public access to the Forest Preserve and may have significant adverse economic impacts on the Town of Hunter and surrounding communities that rely on tourism;

—“Restricting access will not reduce demand, but instead displace visitors to other locations, potentially exacerbating congestion, unsafe parking, and environmental impacts in surrounding areas.”

The resolution states, “the Town Board is concerned that the VUM Report elevates restrictive management tools before fully implementing reasonable, practical and less intrusive alternatives, including:

—“Expansion and formalization of parking capacity on existing State-owned lands, including Laurel House Road and Schutt Road; 

—“Improvements to traffic flow, including modifications to the North-South Lake Campground entrance to reduce backups onto Route 23A; 

—“Increased staffing and active traffic management during peak visitation periods; 

—“Consideration of reclassification of the Kaaterskill Falls area as an Intensive Use Area; 

—“Implementation of recommendations contained in the Catskill Advisory Group Report.”

The resolution, calling for “commonsense” solutions, states, “the Town Board believes that such infrastructure and operational improvements should be fully implemented and evaluated before any consideration is given to limiting public access.”

Hunter officials further state that “implementation of a reservation-based or gated-access system in the Kaaterskill Clove area would be logistically difficult, costly to enforce and unlikely to effectively address the underlying issues identified in the VUM Report.”

The town calls upon DEC’s mission to include, “consideration of the economic and social well-being of local communities, and that any management approach must balance environmental protection with economic sustainability and public access.

In conclusion, the Hunter town board, “formally objects to the current direction and recommendations of the Kaaterskill Clove [VUM] Report to the extent that it prioritizes restrictive access measures such as reservation systems, timed-entry systems or visitor caps,” the resolution states.

“The Town Board urges the NYSDEC to suspend consideration of such restrictive measures,” the resolution states, with visitation potentially narrowed to 1,000 per day in peak season.

Hunter officials, while reaching out to neighboring towns for backing, are asking DEC to “work collaboratively with the town and other local stakeholders to develop a balanced, practical, and effective management strategy that reflects on-the-ground conditions and community needs.”