This Month's Topics:
- Catskill Strategic Planning Advisory Group Submits Final Report to DEC Commissioner Seggos
- DEC’s Annual Spring Seedling Sale Now Open
- Annual School Seedling Program for Educators Begins
- Need to Prune a Tree? Now is a Good Time
- Update on the Regenerate NY Grant, Round 2: Landowners Move Forward with Forestry Practices
- 2023 Trail Supporter Patch Sales Announced
- Take the 2023 Catskill Fire Tower Challenge
- Urban and Community Forestry Corner
- Upcoming Events
- Community Spotlight
- What We’re Reading
- DEC Announces Launch of State Lands Kiosk Survey
Catskill Strategic Planning Advisory Group Submits Final Report to DEC Commissioner Seggos
The Catskill Advisory Group (CAG) is a collaboration of state and local organizations that provided DEC with advice on how to balance increased public use in the Catskill Park while also protecting the area’s natural resources. Earlier this month CAG submitted their final report which promotes sustainable recreation and includes proposed actions to balance increasing recreational use, protect natural and historic resources, and ensure a welcoming, accessible, and inclusive visitor experience. Recommendations for immediate actions, strategic investments, and priorities are categorized into six different themes:
- Whole-Park Management
- Natural Resources
- Marketing, Communication and Education
- Traffic and Parking
- Benefits to Catskill Park Communities
- Building Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice Principles
Read more about the final report in the press release and learn more about the Catskill Advisory Group on the DEC website.
Pictured: Person fishing from the Colgate Lake platform.
DEC's Annual Spring Seedling Sale Now Open
The DEC Colonel William F. Fox Memorial Saratoga Tree Nursery's annual seedling sale is happening now through May 12th! Dozens of tree and shrub species are available for purchase for conservation plantings across New York State. Browse this year's selection on our website, and get your order in early because many favorites go quickly. We recommend placing your order by phone for the most up-to-date species availability information. Seedlings will be shipped mid-April through May.
Pictured: tree seedlings at DEC’s tree nursery.
Annual School Seedling Program for Educators Begins
Looking to involve your students in hands-on learning about the role of trees in ecosystems as well as participate in conservation? DEC’s School Seedling Program provides seedlings from the Colonel William F. Fox Memorial Saratoga Tree Nursery to youth organizations and schools in New York. Apply online by March 31 for your chance to receive 30-50 free tree or shrub seedlings to plant with your students. Each school or organization may receive one order per year.
Pictured: Two students standing beside shrub they planted.
Need to Prune a Tree? Now Is a Good Time
Do you have a tree that needs pruning? Winter is a great time to make any necessary cuts. Not only is it easier to assess a tree without its leaves, but pruning when insects are not active helps lower the risk of a fungus or disease entering the pruning wound.
Want to know more, or wondering how to go about your planned pruning? Check out the article "Winter is a Great Time to Prune Trees" in the December 2020 issue of the Conservationist, available on DEC's website (PDF), or visit our tree care webpage.
Pictured: Person wearing hard hat and safety vest pruning tree branches during the winter.
Update on the Regenerate NY Grant, Round 2: Landowners Move Forward with Forestry Practices
DEC’s Regenerate NY is a competitive grant program that promotes successful forest regeneration on privately owned forestland within New York State. Round 2 of the grant began in April 2022 and since then, twenty projects have been awarded around the state, many of which have already begun work.
Grant funds are used to improve conditions for forest regeneration using practices that promote afforestation (establishing a new forest in a previously open or unforested area), reforestation, forest restoration, control competing vegetation to promote tree growth, or create deer exclosures to protect young trees.
The “before” and “after” photos below show a grant project in Sullivan County where fields were mowed and treated to reduce competing vegetation so that the land can be reforested with species such as red and white oaks, sugar and red maples, hickory, and Norway spruce.
For more information and updates on the upcoming Round 3 of grants, visit the Regenerate NY webpage.
Pictured: Top- land in Sullivan County before removal of competing vegetation. Bottom- after vegetation management to promote reforestation.
2023 Trail Supporter Patch Sales Announced
New Year- new opportunities to collect the full set of trail supporter patches! We will have a variety of patches available throughout the year for a chance to collect the full set of international activity symbols: cross-country skiing, camping, hiking, equestrian, and biking. Patches are just $5 each and all funds go to support the maintenance of non-motorized trails on State lands. To kick off the New Year, we have the following patches available through the dates listed below, or while supplies last:
- Cross-country skiing and camping patches: available today through May 31, and
- Hiking Patch: available today through October 31.
For information on how to place your order, visit the DEC website.
 
Pictured: Top- cross-country skiing patch with skier on blue background. Bottom left- camping patch with tent symbol on yellow background. Bottom right- hiking patch with hikers on brown background.
Take the 2023 Catskill Fire Tower Challenge
If you missed the past Fire Tower Challenges or would like an opportunity to add to your patch collection, the 2023 Catskills Fire Tower Challenge opened on January 1, 2023, and runs through December 31, 2023. The Catskills Fire Tower Challenge encourages experienced hikers to visit six fire towers in the region: Balsam Lake, Hunter, Overlook, Red Hill, Tremper, and Upper Esopus, a new fire tower located at the Catskills Visitor Center.
To complete the challenge:
- Hike to all six fire towers
- Submit a log of your completed hikes along with a favorite photo or selfie via a web form or to the designated email inbox
- For an extra bonus entry to win prizes submit a photo practicing Leave No Trace while participating in the challenge (picking up litter, carrying out, planning and preparing for a hike, staying on trail, keeping your dog leashed, etc.).
Pictured: the 2023 patch for the Catskill Fire Tower Challenge.
Urban and Community Forestry Corner
Upcoming Events
“The Cost of Not Maintaining Your Trees” Webinar (Virtual) – February 28 from 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Tree lovers know the benefits trees provide – energy savings, air cleaning, water management, carbon uptake, and more! But what are the costs when you don’t maintain your trees? Like all community infrastructure, trees require care and maintenance to provide their maximum benefits. Join NYS ReLeaf for a webinar let by Dr. Jess Vogt of DePaul University and the Lab for Urban Forestry in the Anthropocene as we discuss the costs of maintaining and not maintaining your urban trees. Registration for this free webinar is now open; sign up online.
Tree City Recognition Events: March 16 at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie & March 23 in Baldwinsville- If you’re a Tree City USA community, Tree Campus, or Tree Line Utility, keep your eyes on your inbox in January for your invite to the Tree City Recognition Events in March! This year we’ll be hosting 2 events – one at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie on March 16 and one at the Fireside Inn in Baldwinsville on March 23. These events are a thank you for all the effort communities and tree lovers put into their urban forests throughout the year.
Save the date: 2023 ReLeaf Conference July 20 –22- Mark your calendars for the annual ReLeaf conference that will be held on Long Island at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY. There will be two days of “tree-tacular” presentations with this year’s theme of “Keeping trees in mind: planning for a better tomorrow”. Registration opens in May and we will announce our speakers in the coming months.
Community Spotlight 
The town of Elmira in western NY completed a street tree planting this past fall. 50 trees were planted by the town highway department in a project led by the town’s tree board and was spearheaded by tree board member and NYS Urban forestry council member Paul DiPietro. The town funded the trees from its budget and the effort has been well received by the community. They are already planning for next year’s Arbor Day and are receiving requests for more trees to be planted.
What We’re Reading
Read the results of a recent study by the US Forest Service that show just how important trees are to our mental and physical health.
Pictured: A tree planted recently in Elmira, NY as part of a town funded planting project. Photo provided by DEC’s Pat Lafler.
DEC Announces Launch of State Lands Kiosk Survey
DEC is seeking public input to help make improvements to informational kiosk signage on DEC properties by completing the new DEC Kiosk Survey. Input from visitors’ surveys will help DEC make improvements to kiosk signage throughout the state and enhance the visitor experience.
Kiosks are small, open wooden structures that provide cover for educational and informational signs that feature trail maps, emergency phone numbers, and other important information. Kiosks are located at various State properties such as State forests, wilderness areas, conservation easements, wildlife management areas, boat launches, and more.
By taking the survey, participants will be entered into the survey sweepstakes which will have both monthly winners, who will a free subscription to DEC's Conservationist magazine and a $50 gift card, as well as a grand prize winner, who will receive a free subscription to the Conservationist and a $200 gift card. Individuals can submit multiple surveys per month but can submit only one survey response per kiosk location.
Individuals looking to participate in the survey are encouraged to use DEC's Info Locator to find a complete list of State lands to visit. Once at a kiosk, visitors can simply use their smart phones to pull up the survey and fill out the questions, or review the kiosk signage and fill out the survey later. DEC encourages visitors to provide detailed feedback and submit photos when possible.
Additional information about the survey, sweepstakes, and the link to the survey can be found on DEC's website.
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