The Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, usually referred to as the Catskill Center, is a

not-for-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

based in Arkville, New York, United States. It works to preserve the

natural environment The natural environment or natural world encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally, meaning in this case not artificial. The term is most often applied to the Earth or some parts of Earth. This environment encompasses ...

of the Catskill region and foster

sustainable economic development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The desir ...

in it. Founded in 1969, it is headquartered in the historic Erpf House along state highway

NY 28 New York State Route 28 (NY 28) is a state highway extending for in the shape of a "C" between the Hudson Valley city of Kingston and southern Warren County in the U.S. state of New York. Along the way, it intersects several major ...

in Arkville, just outside the

Catskill Park The Catskill Park is in the Catskill Mountains in New York in the United States. It consists of of land inside a Blue Line in four counties: Delaware, Greene, Sullivan, and Ulster. As of 2005, or 41 percent of the land within, is owned by ...

Blue Line. It works to further its mission through different methods, from advocacy and land conservation to developing educational materials and sponsoring arts and cultural events.

Programs

The Catskill Center staff oversees programs covering various areas: arts and culture, education and natural resources. Erpf House, Arkville, NY

Two programs cover the arts and culture section: the Erpf Gallery at the center's Arkville offices, and its artist-in-residence program at the Platte Clove Preserve. The arts and culture section also maintains extensive historical archives. The education program develops materials for local teachers to use as curriculum, especially the five-volume ''The Catskills: A Sense of Place''. Other

environmental education Environmental education (EE) refers to organized efforts to teach how natural environments function, and particularly, how human beings can manage behavior and ecosystems to live sustainably. It is a multi-disciplinary field integrating discip ...

programs focus on the region's streams and watersheds. The natural resources program manages the Platte Clove Preserve and the Esopus Bend near Saugerties. It also holds

conservation easement In the United States, a conservation easement (also called conservation covenant, conservation restriction or conservation servitude) is a power invested in a qualified private land conservation organization (often called a "land trust") or gover ...

s on other key tracts in the region not part of the state-owned, "forever wild",

Forest Preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

or otherwise

protected Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

References

External links

Center website
{{Authority control Environmental organizations based in New York (state) Organizations established in 1969 Catskills Delaware County, New York