It might not sound like a big deal, but today's dedication of the Catskill Interpretive Kiosk in Mt. Tremper is a cause for celebration, because it's a concrete step towards getting a long-desired Catskills Interpretive Center built on the same spot. From the Daily Mail:
A long delayed plan that began 22 years ago to help the communities of the Catskill Mountains identify and promote their resources to visitors will soon take a small, but significant, step forward ... On hand will be U.S. Congressman Maurice Hinchey -- who, as a NYS Assemblyman in the second half of the 1980s, initiated and got passed the legislation creating the Catskill Interpretive Center.
Many people thought it would never happen, and it took a dedicated crew of SUNY Delhi students to finally kick things into action. (That's them building the kiosk above, as documented in a Flickr photo album.)
Here's the full press release about today's ceremony, which will be held at 12:30:
Congressman Hinchey and Commissioner Grannis, other community leaders to dedicate the Catskill Interpretive Kiosk
Monday, August 16, 2010: Congressman Maurice Hinchey and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis, together with other local community leaders, will dedicate the Catskill Interpretive Kiosk in Mount Tremper on Tuesday, August 31 at 12:30pm. The Catskill Interpretive Kiosk, filled with sixteen illustrative and informative display panels on Catskill natural history, culture, and recreational activities, is located at the future site of the Catskill Interpretive Center on Route 28, 20-miles west of Kingston. The Kiosk offers an abundance of information for visitors to the Catskills as well as local residents at a scenic roadside area. It is a microcosm of the displays planned for the Catskill Interpretive Center and a first-step toward the realization of this long-anticipated education center. Over the years, both Congressman Hinchey and the NYS DEC have shown steadfast commitment to the creation of the Catskill Interpretive Center.
The dedication will be an opportunity to view the displays on the kiosk and to learn about the vision of the Catskill Interpretive Center from the organizations who have been with the project from the start. Five organizations have partnered to complete the Catskill Interpretive Kiosk—a step toward the Catskill Interpretive Center. Representatives from The Friends of the Catskill Interpretive Center, The Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, The Trust for Public Land, Central Catskills Collaborative, NYS DEC, will be on hand for the dedication of the Catskill Interpretive Kiosk.
In 1988, the Mount Tremper site was secured for the Interpretive Center, but the project was put on hold in 1995. In 2003, The Friends of the Catskill Interpretive Center formed to reinvigorate this project. In 2009, the partnering organizations solicited the services of SUNY Delhi’s Architecture Club and Construction Technology Program, who designed and built the Kiosk. Sixteen display panels were designed, printed and mounted by NYS DEC with assistance from the partnering organizations and input from the public. The construction of the Kiosk was a community endeavor, funded by private donations and public funds and supported by volunteers. The Friends of the Catskill Interpretive Center are actively raising funds for the Catskill Interpretive Center.
The Friends of the Catskill Interpretive Center and all of the partnering organizations encourage residents and visitors to the Catskill Park to attend the dedication and to return to enjoy the Kiosk for years to come.
The Catskill Center for Conservation and Development is a member-supported nonprofit organization serving the Catskill Mountain region of New York State. The Catskill Center stimulates, conducts, and supports integrated actions to protect vital ecosystems and unique landscapes, to enhance economic opportunities for all the region’s residents, to preserve cultural and historic assets, and to further a regional vision and spirit.
