Catskills Environmental Monitoring and Research Conference Recap
By Joan Maloof
Like many in-person meetings, the Catskills Environmental Monitoring and Research (CERM) conference was put off for a few years while the newest Coronavirus did its thing. When we finally got together this year, October 26-28, it was well worth the wait.
At the altitude of the Big Indian, NY, Full Moon Resort, where the conference was held, the peak of the red and orange leaf color had passed, but many of the sugar maple and beech trees still glowed golden on the hillsides – backed by a pure blue sky.
Much of the annual (in years past) conference focuses on water because the Catskills area plays a vitally important role in providing clean water to New York City. But the hydrologists and geologists shared time with the tree lovers this year as old-growth forests in the Catskills got plenty of attention. I was honored to open the conference with a talk about the Old-Growth Forest Network and building excitement for the dedication that would take place during a field trip on the closing day of the event.
For me, the most exciting thing (besides meeting a new old-growth forest!) was the special “tree people” in attendance, including the Old Growth Forest Group consisting of Dr. Kudish, Dr. Morton S. Adams (Sam), Steve Parisio, and John Franklin. This group was crucial in providing location data and Steve is responsible for the creation of GIS maps detailing lichen growth in the area. What a great team! Steve Paraiso is also the OGFN’s volunteer County Coordinator. His work was of crucial importance, recommending the right forest to dedicate in Ulster County. Another special tree person in attendance was Harvard Forest dendrochronologist, Neil Pederson. He has been in almost as many old-growth forests as I have, so I feel like we have mutual friends. I was honored to finally meet him, and especially to learn what a great guy he is. Another tree luminary who came for the dedication and the field trip was the author and Seattle Times reporter Lynda Mapes. She is another person I have long wanted to meet. Mapes is the current Bullard Fellow at Harvard Forest so she was on the east coast.
As we tick off numbers for forests added to the Old-Growth Forest Network, it is good to remember that behind every single number is a whole group of people refreshing old connections, making new connections, and stepping up to preserve our precious ancient forests for all the organisms that live in them, as well as for future generations of humans.
Please visit the forest detail page for Big Indian Wilderness for more information.
