Feature
Coordinating and communicating Catskill Mountain research.
Funded by New York State through Environmental Protection Funds, and with support from the NYC Department of Environmental Protection and private donors, the Catskill Science Collaborative (CSC) is one way we help implement the goals of the Catskill Environmental Research and Monitoring (CERM) group. The CSC is coordinated by Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies.
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 Research Fellowships 2023
The Catskill Research Fellowship program gives undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to work alongside academic mentors to answer research questions articulated by natural resource managers working in the Catskill Mountain region of New York State.
The 2023 proposal process is underway. We are currently seeking proposals from college or university professors who are interested in collaborating with natural resource managers to support conservation efforts and address critical knowledge gaps. Applicants must have an interested undergraduate or graduate student prepared to work on the project if funded.
A student stipend and funding to cover research expenses is included in the fellowship.
2023 Request for Proposals (RFP) are due by January 6th, 2023.
Contact: Ava Goodale at goodalea@caryinstitute.org
Catskill Research Fellowship Updates
Fellowship Orientation
Catskill Science Collaborative Resources
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.
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 Ava Goodale at: goodalea@caryinstitute.org.
Publications
Our digital collection includes over 600 peer-reviewed journal articles and gray literature documents, all of which are focused on ecology research and environmental monitoring in the Catskills Region.
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.
