Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County’s Ashokan Watershed Stream Management Program, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, US Geological Survey, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, New York City Department of Environmental Protection, and the Catskill Institute for the Environment are sponsoring an informal research forum to be held on November 17th and 18th, at Belleayre Mountain Ski Center in Highmount, NY.
This meeting is intended mainly for researchers and resource managers working in the region, but we do not intend this meeting to be exclusive. Therefore, please forward this to others you think may be interested in attending or presenting.

The purpose of this forum is to:

  1. exchange information about current research, monitoring, and data collection efforts within the Catskill Mountains related to
    • climate change
    • stream water quality
    • biodiversity
    • forest health, and
    • stream stability
  2. identify monitoring and research gaps; and
  3. stimulate discussion; and promote collaborative efforts that address present and future environmental issues within the region.

We request that you forward topics for discussion, titles, and abstracts (300 word maximum) for a poster or verbal presentation (15-20 min talks) to Elizabeth Higgins, of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County, at emh56@cornell.edu on or before October 15, 2010.

Some additional activities will be planned for Wednesday evening and part of Thursday afternoon will be kept open for general discussions and/or breakout meetings.

The submission form is available on the conference website
(www.ashokanstreams.org\research%20 conference.html).  You can also find registration and lodging information there.  A final agenda and program will be forwarded to interested parties in late October and will be available on the conference website.

For more information, contact Elizabeth Higgins at (845) 688-3047 or emh56@cornell.edu.