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Catskills, brace for "potentially life-threatening weather" today

By Lissa Harris
7/26/12 - 11:25 am

Much of New York State is under special weather warnings for this afternoon and evening, with forecasters predicting severe thunderstorms, high wind, large hail, and possibly even tornadoes.

The National Weather Service warns of the threat of severe thunderstorms across all of Eastern New York and Western New England:

Severe Thunderstorm Outbreak Possible Today

There Is A Threat For Significant Severe Thunderstorms This Afternoon And Evening. The Main Hazards Will Be Damaging Wind Gusts...Large Hail And Even Isolated Tornadoes. The Area With The Greatest Threat Appears To Be Just South Of The Capital Region...Although The Entire Region Of East Central New York And Western New England Has The Potential For Violent Severe Thunderstorms.   Read more

Advertise in our new *print* outdoors guide, in partnership with the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce

By Julia Reischel
7/23/12 - 10:59 am

It's a first -- the Watershed Post is partnering with the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce to produce a print (yes, print!) and online guide to the Catskills outdoors, just in time for the Central Catskills Great Outdoors Experience Festival on August 25 - 26.   Read more

Water, water everywhere

By Andrew Wyrich
7/17/12 - 10:06 am

Above: Early morning fishing at the Ashokan Reservoir in the Catskills. Photo submitted to our Flickr Pool by Timothy E. Cox.

We've been getting a lot of great photos in our Flickr group pool lately. Below, please enjoy some gorgeous shots of local water bodies taken in the last couple of weeks by Watershed Post readers.

Flickr user CMMooney took this picture of clouds reflecting off of the Pepacton Reservoir.

The mirrored sky on Kiamesha Lake was captured by Catskills Photography.  Read more

Fire on the mountain: Drought sparks fires and regulations

By Lissa Harris
7/16/12 - 10:00 am

A little rain over the weekend was welcome, after a summer that's been unusually dry so far. But upstate New York is still pretty parched, raising the risk of wildfires, causing normally gushing streams to run at a trickle, and threatening drinking water shortages.

On Friday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office announced that the state is instituting an emergency ban on outdoor burning until October 10, and revoking any burn permits that have already been issued.

From the press release:

As a result of the mild winter with relatively little snowfall, as well as areas of the state which have received only 25% of the normal spring and early summer rainfall, wildfire danger across New York is heightened. Current weather forecasts predict above normal temperatures, elevating the risk for all of Upstate and Western New York. New York City and Long Island are at moderate risk levels.

The Albany Times-Union reports:  Read more

Bashing the Borscht Belt: A Catskills rebranding effort ladles it on

By Lissa Harris
7/12/12 - 9:56 am

Above: A screenshot from the website of the Catskill Park Resource Foundation, which is seeking to mount a $5 million campaign to rebrand the Catskills region. The CPRF is currently running a contest seeking Catskills slogans; the winner will receive $1,500.

All press is good press, or so the saying goes.  By that logic, Catskills denizens ought to be pleased with the results of a high-profile effort by a group of local businesspeople to rebrand the region.

But after a recent New York Times story about the rebranding effort featured a lot of handwringing about how tarnished the region's reputation is, some local tourism promoters are wondering if dwelling publicly on the image of crumbling Borscht Belt hotels and schlocky comedy is doing more harm than good.  Read more

DEC loosens firewood transport rules

By Lissa Harris
7/3/12 - 5:20 pm

Above: Photo of cut log by Flickr user EasyPickle. Published under Creative Commons license.

This afternoon, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced that they are loosening the regulations that govern transportation of firewood in the state.

According to a press release from the DEC, wood being transported to sawmills and other facilities for processing will no longer be considered "firewood," and is not covered by the regulations.

Also, under the revision, homeowners and other firewood users will not have to keep documentation of where their wood came from, unless they are burning it on state land.

The regulations, which are intended to prevent the spread of invasive tree-killing insects like emerald ash borer and Asian longhorned beetle, still prevent the transport of untreated firewood more than 50 miles from its source.

From the press release:  Read more

Seward Letters

Letter to the Editor: Assemblyman Pete Lopez on Rebuilding from Recent Hurricanes
11/19/2012 - 1:41pm
Letter to the Editor: James Blake for State Senate
08/27/2012 - 12:01pm

If you'd like to submit a letter to the editor, email us at editor@watershedpost.com with "Letter to the Editor" in the subject line.

More news from around the Catskills