Catskill Science Collaborative

A group of individuals and institutions dedicated to facilitating collaboration and outreach by those doing environmental research in the Catskill Mountain region of New York State.

Note: The 2020 CERM conference has been postponed until 2021.

Funded by New York State through Environmental Protection Funds and coordinated by the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, the CSC carries forward the goals of the Catskill Environmental Research and Monitoring (CERM) group, an informal collaboration initiated in 2010.

Coordinating and communicating Catskill Mountain research.

Goals

Promote scientific research and environmental monitoring in the Catskill Region on topics relevant to natural resource management.
Provide a locus for exchange of information between resource managers (e.g., NYSDEC, NYC DEP, private landowners) and scientists.
Promote the development of "scientific infrastructure" (e.g., databases, bibliographies, intensive research sites) that improves the opportunities for collaboration among Catskill researchers.
Provide opportunities for Catskill residents and visitors to learn about research and environmental issues in the Catskill Region

Why We Need The Catskill Science Collaborative

The Catskill Region’s economy is driven by natural resources. The key industries of tourism, forestry, and agriculture all require healthy and well-managed ecosystems for their long-term sustainability. Nine million people obtain their drinking water from the NYC water supply system and depend on healthy forests and streams in the Catskill watersheds to maintain the quantity and purity of their water.

Environmental research and monitoring provide the scientific foundation of intelligent ecosystem management in the face of climate change, invasive species, development, and other environmental changes.

A large number of federal, state and municipal agencies, universities, and research institutes are involved in research, monitoring, and management of Catskills resources. However, there are few opportunities for scientists and managers to exchange information across agencies and institutions, make data freely available for long-term use, or to communicate research findings to the public.

The CSC launched in 2018 to fill these gaps in coordination and communication.

Catskill Science Collaborative Data Portal

Managed in partnership with the Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative, the Catskill Science Collaborative Data Portal is a collection of publicly accessible environmental data collected throughout the Catskill Mountains region. The Data Portal can help researchers meet grant requirements such as the need for a data management plan, as well as the need to make data publicly available.

Data Portal

How to Contribute Data

Are you a researcher or natural resource managers that has data you would like to contribute to the Catskill Science Collaborative Data Portal? Are you starting a new research project in the Catskills? Data are safely archived, receive a Digital Object Identifier(DOI) and are discoverable through major scientific data aggregators such as DataOne. Contact Jamie Deppen at: deppenj@caryinstitute.org , (845) 677-7600 ext. 234

Catskill Research Fellowship Updates

Fellowship Orientation

Funded by New York State through Environmental Protection Funds, Cary Institute, New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Ashokan Watershed Stream Management Program, Rondout Neversink Stream Program, and our generous sponsors and donors, the CSC carries out the goals of the Catskill Environmental Research and Monitoring (CERM) group, an informal collaboration initiated in 2010. The program is coordinated by Cary Institute.