Catskill Park Awareness Day 2016 - A Time for Action

On February 9, the CMC and some 30 partner organizations of the Catskill Park Coalition will head to Albany to deliver a call to action to our state government leaders. The message will focus their attention on the needs and aspirations of our region and, especially those of the Catskill Park.Even while we suffered massive cuts in funding for stewardship, planning and capital improvements during the recent great recession, we have had a huge increase in usage. Economic realities that saw many people focus their travel plans closer to home have now combined with increases in visitors from around the world. From feature articles naming the Catskills one of the top “must visit” destinations in the world (see here and here) to Governor Cuomo's recently announced initiative to spend $5M on advertising to promote the Catskills worldwide, we realize that these important achievements mean that we must rise to the occasion to meet the challenges that the increased use of our recreational assets will bring. On the basis of this knowledge, we are seeking funding for a number of programs and initiatives that will help address these needs.Please take a look at our list of priorities on the web page linked to here. You will find a sample letter that you can use to send a message of support to your state legislators. You'll also find a petition to sign that will be delivered with our requests. Your support is crucial to our success, so please act now. It will take a few minutes to inform yourself and act, but the positive results for the Catskills that we love will last for years.