We are a regional non-profit grassroots environmental organization working to protect the Catskills.  We represent thousands of members who care about the future of the region.  There is a large amount of information on our site.  Here on the homepage we have breaking news and key information about our current campaigns.  Use the navigation functions to find out about much more.

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Billboard currently on Route 17 - Click here to find out more

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August 4, 2010: Stunning 11th Hour Victory- NYS Gas Drilling Moratorium Passes Senate
Specifically, the measure (S.8129B) places a moratorium on new fracking permits in the Marcellus Shale and other similar formations until May 15, 2011, “to afford the state and its residents the opportunity to continue the review and analysis of the effects of hydraulic fracturing on water and air quality, environmental safety and public health.”  The bill passed on the senate floor at 12:30pm in a 48-9 vote.
Wes Gillingham, the Mountainkeeper  Program Director was in Albany on the Senate Floor lobbying for passage of the moratorium at that early hour this morning.  We are deeply proud of his efforts and those of our coalition friends, our members and all of you who worked so hard to get this historic bill passed.  CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT WHAT YOU CAN DO TO GET THIS SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR INTO LAW

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Click to Watch

Lessons for New York from the Gulf Coast

A recent New York Times story entitled "Drilling Was Allowed Despite Warning" powerfully reinforces the strong need to have effective regulations, monitoring and penalties in place before beginning to extract minerals from the earth. How can we, our Governor or the DEC think that we can do the same thing here and get a different result from the catastrophe taking place in the Gulf of Mexico? 

The Times story reported today that "the federal Minerals Management Service gave permission to BP and dozens of other oil companies to drill in the Gulf of Mexico without first getting required permits from another agency." In addition they also "routinely overruled its staff biologist and engineers who raised concerns about the safety and the environmental impact of certain drilling proposals." Click here for more on this story

Over 4200 people have signed our common sense petition demanding that the DEC wait to issue any permitting guidelines until the federal EPA Hydrofracking Study - which is currently underway - is completed.

SIGN THE PETITION HERE

READ THE SIGNATURES AND COMMENTS HERE

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE EPA STUDY HERE

Bills have been introduced in both the NY Assembly and Senate asking for a moratorium. 

LISTEN TO WES GILLINGHAM ON WBAI HEALTHSTYLES - INTERVIEWED BY BARBARA GLICKSTEIN

Friday June 25, 2010 1:00pm Public Affairs

Play Download THE MP3 HERE

LISTEN TO OUR NEW RADIO ADS ABOUT SHALE GAS DRILLING AIRING IN UPSTATE NEW YORK HERE

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CURRENT PRIORITIES

MAJOR THREAT #1 - GAS DRILLING

Why It Matters to You

* Gas drilling only started a year and half ago in neighboring Pennsylvania and already there

* In communities around the country where there has been extensive drilling there has been tremendous stress on community infrastructures; severe health problems; sharp decreases in property values and many other hazards including an incidence of earthquakes

READ ABOUT RECENT GAS DRILLING ACCIDENTS HERE

LEARN MORE ABOUT GAS DRILLING IN THE CATSKILLS HERE

MAJOR THREAT #2 - GAMBLING CASINOS

There is an aggressive federal push to get the new Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to change the rules that prohibit Native American tribes from building casinos hundreds of miles away from their reservations, opening Sullivan County to the likelihood of at least three off-reservation Atlantic City sized casinos.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN A PETITION REGISTERING YOUR OPPOSITION

* Casino proposals estimate an 1800% increase in visitors a year which will overwhelm our roadways making it almost impossible to move around.* Each casino will be a self-contained “city” and will put local businesses
out of business.

* Casinos nurture compulsive gambling and will bring increased crime, prostitution, poverty and violence to our area.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT CASINO GAMBLING IN THE CATSKILLS

MAJOR THREAT # 3 - LARGE SCALE DEVELOPMENT THAT CHANGES THE CHARACTER OF THE REGION

Major large scale developments have been proposed near Belleayre State Park Ski Center, along the Bashakill Ridge in Sullivan County as well as in Delaware,Green and Ulster Counties.

Why It Matters to You
* If we don’t seize the opportunity to plan our growth now, we will look back in 20 years and lament the destruction of our natural beauty and heritage.

* Large scale development costs municipalities more than it brings in when it outpaces the needed infrastructure.* The destruction to the land exposes us to excessive flooding, and toxic substances entering our water and air.

* We don’t need large scale development to grow our economy; we can do it with smart sustainable development

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT LARGE SCALE DEVELOPMENT IN THE CATSKILLS

Mountainkeeper is a community based environmental advocacy organization, dedicated to creating a flourishing sustainable economy in the Catskills and preserving and protecting the area’s long term health. We address issues of water integrity for the Delaware and Susquehanna River Systems, the defense of the vast woodlands that encompass the Catskill Forest Preserve and the New York City Watershed as well as farmland protection. We promote “smart” development that balances the economic needs and concerns of the Catskill regions’ citizens and the protection of our abundant but exceedingly vulnerable natural resources.

HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED? Contribute to us so we can continue to lead the fights – CLICK HERE TO GIVE

Sign up for our action alerts – it’s Free!–

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP Inform & mobilize your friends & neighbors –

Get involved, it’s your Catskills – CLICK HERE TO VOLUNTEER

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT WE SUPPORT, WHO WE REPRESENT, AND WHAT WE DO CLICK HERE