NEW YORK CITY--Approximately 11,000 acres of New York City-owned land adjacent to State Forest Preserve land in the Catskills will be open to hiking, hunting, fishing and trapping without the need for a City permit under a cooperative agreement between the City and the State.
State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis and City Department of Environmental Protection (NYC DEP) Commissioner Emily Lloyd announced that DEC will patrol the City watershed property to enforce regulations, help protect the environment, and further assist in the management of these lands. The change will be in effect for the 2008-2009 hunting season.
New York State owns over 200,000 acres in the City's watershed west of the Hudson River, the vast majority of which is located within the Catskill Forest Preserve. This forested land has been successfully managed by DEC for many decades to allow residents and visitors to enjoy passive recreational activities without the need for State access permits
Generally, City permits are required for access to City-owned land in the watershed. Under this agreement, scheduled to begin in fall 2008, the applicable DEC hunting, fishing and trapping licenses will be the only permits needed on these city lands. No permit will be necessary for hiking.
New York Department of Environmental Conservation
www.dec.ny.gov
Comments, Pingbacks:
How about using some of the 125 new DEP police stationed in the watershed to patrol these acres on foot. All they do now is drive aroubd, harrassing locals. Wouldn't these "security forces" the DEP has here achieve more security if they were patrolling the reservoirs and perimeters on foot?

