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53-808: [REDACTED] Look up neversink in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Neversink may refer to: Places in the U.S. state of New York [ edit ] Neversink, New York , a town in Sullivan County Neversink Gorge , in Forestburgh Neversink Preserve , in Orange County Neversink Reservoir , a New York City Reservoir in the Town of Neversink Neversink River ,

106-569: A lawsuit against the state and had been ordered to pay the back taxes. Two Assemblymen from the county (one of whom, Cornelius Hardenbergh, was a descendant of Johannes Hardenbergh , the original crown grantee of much of the Catskills in 1708) who had been elected because of their firm stands against paying the taxes, lobbied their fellow legislators heavily to pass a second version of the Forest Preserve Act, one that not only forgave

159-683: A tributary of the Delaware River Other [ edit ] USS Neversink , a pseudonym for the USS United States (1797) applied by author Herman Melville A short story in the collection When the Nines Roll Over by David Benioff See also [ edit ] All pages with titles beginning with Neversink Navesink (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with

212-575: Is a town in Sullivan County , New York , United States. The population was 3,366 at the 2020 census. The Town of Neversink is in the northeastern corner of the county. The Neversink River that flows through the town is claimed to be the birthplace of American fly fishing . The town was formed from the Town of Rochester in Ulster County , New York in 1798 before Sullivan County

265-728: Is at Windham and its southernmost point is between the hamlet of Napanoch and Rondout Reservoir . In contrast to the Adirondack Park , the Catskill Park does not include all the land generally considered to be part of the Catskill Range. However, all but two of the 35 Catskill High Peaks are inside the Blue Line . The area was used by the Mahican and Esopus Native Americans primarily for hunting. Later it

318-611: The Ashokan Reservoir . In 1905 the state approved the creation of water supply commissions at various local governmental levels , as well as one at the state level to resolve disputes, like the one rapidly brewing between the city and the Catskill communities over its plan to condemn land for the construction of two reservoirs, Ashokan and what is now Schoharie Reservoir , plus the Shandaken Tunnel to connect

371-804: The Interstate 87 section of the New York State Thruway up the Hudson Valley , and the upgrading of Route 17 from a two-lane road into a freeway , along much of the park's southwestern border greatly increased access to the Park during the 1950s and '60s, although the latter encountered fierce opposition from trout fishermen over some of the original bridges along the Beaver Kill, which would have destroyed some favored holes. New York City built three more reservoirs partially within

424-597: The Long Path past it. George Pataki , who had been elected governor in 1995, decided to put the project on hold citing financial considerations. The site, locally referred to as the "road to nowhere," was maintained, but had little to do except stop and picnic and follow the short nature trail that has been cut through the nearby woods. Finishing the project was a cornerstone recommendation of DEC's 1999 Public Access Plan, which again followed an Adirondack lead and proposed ways to increase public knowledge and awareness of

477-496: The United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 86.4 square miles (224 km ), of which 82.9 square miles (215 km ) is land and 3.5 square miles (9.1 km ) (3.99%) is water. As of the 2020 census , there were 3,366 people, 1,472 households, and 854 families residing in the town. As of the census of 2000, there were 3,553 people, 1,346 households, and 1,008 families residing in

530-489: The 18th and 19th centuries. Inhabitants of the region often tell visitors the Park was created to protect New York City's water resources. However, the park itself was created 30 years before the first reservoir ( Ashokan ) was built, before the city had started looking north to fulfill its growing water needs. In 1885, as the state legislature was considering the bill that created the Adirondack Park, Ulster County

583-568: The Adirondack Park. The former was similar in philosophy to those the federal government had already been designating in National parks and forests in the West, but slightly less restrictive; the latter is an even less restrictive category that exists only in New York's Forest Preserve and allows for greater human impact. The practical effects are discussed below under Management. A Master Plan

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636-491: The Adirondacks. It took in as its area of study not just the Park but everywhere that could possibly be considered part of the Catskill region: all four counties of the Park, as well as Schoharie , Otsego and two towns in the southwestern corner of Albany County . It was the state's first-ever effort to look at what resources the Catskills had and what could be done with them. The Adirondack commission's recommendation for

689-564: The Catskills have a warm summer humid continental climate ( Dfb ) with some isolated locations in valleys with hot summer humid continental climate ( Dfa ). The plant hardiness zone on Slide Mountain at 4,180 ft (1,270 m) is 5a with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of -16.6 °F (-27.0 °C). The plant hardiness zone in Margaretville at 1,000 ft (300 m) is 5b with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of -10.6 °F (-23.7 °C) Under

742-696: The Conservation Department, which had been managing the Catskills and Adirondacks, with several other agencies to create the new Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), which exists and manages the Forest Preserve to this day. An idea that the Catskill Center had been pressing for was realized in 1973, when the state created a Temporary Commission to Study the Future of the Catskills, similar to one that it had set up in

795-606: The Master Plan. It would designate more of the wild forest areas as wilderness and establish some more rules for the use of wilderness, such as limits on group size. The most controversial aspect, however, was its decision to limit mountain biking to designated trails and ban them from wilderness areas. While this had been done everywhere else where wilderness protection existed, mountain bikers and their organizations have lobbied hard for an exception, arguing that bicycles are not machines and do not deserve to be banned from use of

848-624: The Park's resources. Some were implemented (such as improving and extending the trail system, which occurred later that year when a trail across Mill Brook Ridge was completed as part of the Finger Lakes Trail , linking the trail network on the lesser peaks in the Delaware County section of the park with the long-established system in Ulster and Greene counties), some have not been. Also in 1999, Governor Pataki designated most of

901-649: The Park: Neversink , Rondout and Pepacton . In 1957, the Blue Line had expanded to its present configuration, taking in not only the lands almost to the Kingston city limit and Thruway at the east, but more of Sullivan and Delaware counties in the west. Trails and other recreational resources remained underused, however. In 1966 the Catskill Mountain 3500 Club , a peak bagging organization,

954-571: The Rondout Reservoir. In 1935, the town passed a dry law prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages , which remained in effect despite repeated efforts to repeal it. The town partially lifted the ban in 2015, allowing alcohol in restaurants but retaining the ban on sales in convenience stores. Part of the town is in the Catskill Park . The northern and eastern town lines are on the border of Ulster County . According to

1007-476: The addition of 121,000 acres (49,000 ha; 490 km ) to the state's holdings. The economic collapse of the late 1920s and 1930s made a lot of desirable land available at low prices, and with the notably aggressive Robert Moses in charge of the state parks, valuable properties like the Devil's Path Range, the summit of Slide Mountain and Windham High Peak became part of the Forest Preserve. From 1926 to 1931

1060-419: The age of 18 living with them, 61.3% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.1% were non-families. 21.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.06. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.1% under

1113-460: The age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $ 45,174, and the median income for a family was $ 55,075. Males had a median income of $ 40,744 versus $ 22,031 for females. The per capita income for

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1166-563: The city and Westchester County would not be able to keep up with demand for much longer. The city at first turned to land in Rockland County now part of Harriman State Park , but found a group of speculators called the Ramapo Water Company had beaten them to the water rights. It was thus essential to go even further north, and only in the Catskill Park could it find the land to condemn around Esopus Creek and create

1219-399: The commission considered the same recommendation for the Catskills, it ultimately decided against it in its final report in 1975 (it did try to promulgate a master land use plan, but that was rejected). What it did recommend was a master plan for the state land in the Forest Preserve, important since management was divided (and still is) between two different DEC regions, which had never been on

1272-440: The county's tax debt in exchange for the lands at issue, but required that the state would henceforth pay whatever local property taxes were required on the land as if they were intended for commercial use (i.e., logging). That provision was later applied to the Adirondacks as well; it remains in force today and makes the difference between survival and insolvency for many towns and other local governmental entities in both parks. As

1325-521: The end of the decade as what hikers there were tended to bypass the Catskills in favor of the Adirondacks and higher peaks in northern New England . Unlike those regions, no lasting organizations of hikers and other passive outdoor recreationists were ever formed around the Catskills (a brief attempt to create a Catskill Mountain Club in the late 1920s sputtered out after a few years). The New York - New Jersey Trail Conference now updates and maintains many of

1378-475: The establishment of a park-wide land use agency, the Adirondack Park Agency had been implemented in full, only to arouse great fury in that region as it issued zoning regulations far stricter than some towns had already enacted and mounted battles against longtime local residents over relatively small infractions. Catskills residents were worried that a similar solution awaited them. While

1431-460: The first hiking trail built at public expense in New York's Forest Preserve, and is still the most heavily used route up the mountain today. That year had also seen the delineation of the Adirondack Park to the north, as the state sought to focus its land-acquisition efforts, by designating particular towns for inclusion, drawing a line in blue ink around them, a custom that continues on all official state maps today. Twelve years later, in 1904, it

1484-446: The law was again amended to say that the Catskill Park consisted of all lands within the Blue Line, not just those owned by the state. Shortly afterwards, a new section was added to Article 14 to allow the construction of reservoirs on up to three percent of the total land in each park. The City of Greater New York , having merged in 1898, began looking for new water resources the very next year, and its existing system of reservoirs in

1537-547: The park. For the next 50 years, within the Blue Line, the state continued to acquire land (first through the State Parks Council and successor agencies, later through the Conservation Department). As time and money permitted, the state developed trails , lean-tos and towers in a piecemeal manner. Bond issues approved by voters in 1916 and 1924 for a total of $ 12.5 million led ultimately to

1590-469: The region when the original Forest Preserve bill was being studied and recommended against including the Catskills in its protections, as its forests "guard only streams of local influence," unlike the Adirondacks, whose preservation was motivated by a desire on the part of the state's businessmen to prevent the Erie Canal from silting up and thus becoming unnavigable. At the same time Ulster had lost

1643-529: The region without paying taxes. The lands left behind were, if still good quality, often snapped up for use as private hunting and fishing clubs for wealthy businessmen from outside the region, whose determined enforcement of trespassing and poaching laws stirred resentment among the local populace long accustomed to the food provided by those lands; the lesser quality lands were wasted, producing nothing except destructive fires. A team of forest experts, led by Harvard professor Charles Sprague Sargent , had visited

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1696-469: The region. The state operates numerous campgrounds and there are over 300 miles (500 km) of multi-use trails. Hunting is permitted, in season, in much of the park. It has approximately 50,000 permanent residents, bolstered somewhat by second-home ownership on weekends and in the summer, and attracts about half a million visitors every year. The park is governed by Article 14 of the state constitution, which stipulates that all land owned or acquired by

1749-539: The region. First came fire protection, a move greatly welcomed by the local governments and one that was to make a long-lasting impact on the region, as fire towers were built on a number of summits and patrols were regularly made along railroad lines to catch cinder fires before they got too big. It also changed the way the region was seen by visitors. An era dominated by hotels such as the Catskill Mountain House at North-South Lake which catered to

1802-404: The same page nor known what the other was doing. It further recommended, following contemporary trends in public-land management (and a recommendation a special legislative committee had made back in 1960), that at least four of the growing tracts, or "management units" of Forest Preserve be formally designated as either wilderness areas or wild forests , again following a distinction drawn in

1855-575: The state opened its first four public campgrounds within the park. New Deal programs during the Great Depression such as the Civilian Conservation Corps made labor available to build trails and replant forests. The state's Conservation Commission was able to compile the first of a series of "Catskill Trails" booklets. However, the trails built by the state rapidly fell into disuse, Raymond H. Torrey would note by

1908-583: The state within cannot be sold or otherwise transferred (absent amending the constitution, which has been done on several occasions), may not be used for logging and must remain "forever wild." The park boundary stretches from near the Hudson River just west of the city of Kingston in the east to the East Branch of the Delaware River near Hancock at its westernmost. Its northern extreme

1961-471: The summits of the High Peaks as Bird Conservation Areas, in recognition of the importance of their boreal forests as summer habitat for Bicknell's thrush , only recently declared to be a separate species. It was the first such designation within either Forest Preserve, and the Adirondacks would this time be the one to follow suit a few years later. In 2003, DEC released its long-awaited draft update to

2014-468: The timber industry kept making determined efforts to undermine the bill, its original sponsors took the occasion of New York adopting a new constitution in 1894 to enshrine it in that document, with language that plugged all the loopholes that loggers and officials on the state's Forest Preserve Advisory Board had been using. Article 14 has survived several other major constitutional revisions. The park's creation meant an increase in state resources focused on

2067-505: The title Neversink . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Neversink&oldid=906863679 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Neversink, New York Neversink

2120-451: The town was $ 19,260. About 8.7% of families and 11.3% of the population were below the poverty line , including 14.3% of those under age 18 and 13.7% of those age 65 or over. 41°50′50″N 74°37′09″W  /  41.84722°N 74.61917°W  / 41.84722; -74.61917 Catskill Park There are bobcats , minks and fishers in the preserve, and coyotes are often heard. There are some 400 black bears living in

2173-479: The town. The population density was 42.8 inhabitants per square mile (16.5/km ). There were 1,960 housing units at an average density of 23.6 per square mile (9.1/km ). The racial makeup of the town was 96.93% White , 0.56% African American , 0.23% Native American , 0.23% Asian , 0.65% from other races , and 1.41% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.20% of the population. There were 1,346 households, out of which 35.7% had children under

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2226-610: The trails in Catskill Park, including many around Slide Mountain (Ulster County, New York) . The most important change during this time period was the amending of Article 14, in 1948 to allow for the construction of Belleayre Mountain Ski Center and thus encourage skiers to come to the Catskills, following the lead taken in the Adirondacks by the creation of Whiteface and Gore ski areas. It remains in operation and several other private ski areas such as Hunter Mountain and Windham Mountain have followed its lead. The construction of

2279-449: The two. The city prevailed, and construction of Ashokan began the next year, requiring the removal of several small hamlets and many residents in the process (some, such as Shokan , West Shokan and Olive Bridge, survive on its banks). The Esopus was dammed in 1913 and started sending water to the city two years later. Land claims continued to be resolved in area courts until 1940. It was the first of several city reservoirs in and around

2332-462: The wake of the Woodstock festival , the Catskills were among the many places whose campgrounds and trails began to see many backpacking enthusiasts of the counter-culture. Previously underused trails began to finally see serious usage, almost to the point of overuse. On Earth Day in 1970, Governor Nelson Rockefeller signed legislation that recognized growing environmental concerns by combining

2385-434: The well-to-do and socially prominent was passing its prime, and in its place outdoor recreationists were becoming interested in dry-fly fishing the trout streams, hunting and hiking the mountains. In 1892, the state spent $ 250 to build a trail up Slide Mountain, which had only recently been proven by Arnold Henry Guyot to be the range's highest peak and was thus attracting a great deal of tourist interest. It would be

2438-623: The wilderness. DEC missed its target date of 2004, to coincide with the park's centennial celebrations, for the release of the final version. The revised master plan was adopted in August 2008. The Interpretive Center project was completed and unveiled on July 1, 2015. A nature trail opened near the center in 2016. According to the Köppen climate classification system, the Catskill Mountains have two climate zones. The vast majority of

2491-479: Was begun and pursued under the administration of Governor Mario Cuomo . A site was found on New York State Route 28 near the hamlet of Mount Tremper. It was cleared and roads were built to facilitate the eventual building. The Palisades Interstate Park Commission was to operate it (to get around the restrictions of Article 14) and the New York–New Jersey Trail Conference made plans to route

2544-481: Was decided to do the same with the Catskills. But this Blue Line used not existing municipal boundaries but the old Hardenbergh Patent survey lots , watercourses and railroad rights-of-way , creating a finer, more focused park that gave some of the towns on its periphery areas where they could be assured land would not be subject to Article 14. A similar revision would follow suit in the Adirondacks, and future expansions of both parks would follow this model. In 1912

2597-423: Was developed and implemented in the early 1980s. DEC got busy finally clarifying what user groups (in addition to hikers, snowmobilers , horseback riders and cross-country skiers ) were allowed on which trails, and marking them appropriately. Advocates for the Catskills wanted to build an Interpretive Center, that would educate visitors about the park and its purpose, as a focus for regional tourism. This project

2650-634: Was formally incorporated after having existed informally for several years – the first organization devoted to, among other things, speaking for the Catskill hiking community. Three years later, in 1969, the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development was founded. By the early 1970s, the Borscht Belt era was ending, as the restrictions on Jewish guests at other hotels and resorts that had given rise to it fell victim to civil rights laws , and younger generations of Jews in any event felt more assimilated than their parents and grandparents had. In

2703-634: Was formed. The Town of Rockland was created from part of Neversink in 1809, and part of Neversink was used to make the newer Town of Fallsburg in 1826. When the Neversink and Rondout reservoirs were built, as part of the New York City water supply system, many communities were submerged. The communities of Old Neversink and Bittersweet were lost to form the Neversink Reservoir, while Eureka, Montela, and Lackawack were lost to form

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2756-476: Was heavily exploited by the Dutch, English, Irish, and Germans; local industry included logging, bluestone quarrying , leather tanning , wintergreen and blueberry harvesting, trapping, fishing, and later, tourism. The old-growth hemlock and northern hardwood forests on the steep mountainsides and remote valleys were sufficiently inaccessible that they survived the logging, tanbarking and charcoal industries of

2809-415: Was trying to get out of paying delinquent property taxes that, under the law passed over its objections six years earlier, it owed the state. The lands, mostly around Slide Mountain had come into the county's possession when loggers looking to extract tannin for use in tanning leather from the bark of the many Eastern hemlocks growing there at the time, took the trees, made their money and then left

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