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Shawangunk Ridge

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The Shawangunk Ridge / ˈ ʃ ɑː w ə ŋ ɡ ʌ ŋ k / , also known as the Shawangunk Mountains or The Gunks , is a ridge of bedrock in Ulster County , Sullivan County and Orange County in the state of New York , extending from the northernmost point of the border with New Jersey to the Catskills . The Shawangunk Ridge is a continuation of the long, easternmost section of the Appalachian Mountains ; the ridge is known as Kittatinny Mountain in New Jersey, and as Blue Mountain as it continues through Pennsylvania. This ridge constitutes the western border of the Great Appalachian Valley .

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105-426: The ridgetop, which widens considerably at its northern end, has many public and private protected areas , including Wurtsboro Ridge State Forest, Shawangunk Ridge State Forest, Minnewaska State Park Preserve , Witch's Hole State Park and Mohonk Preserve. The ridge is not heavily populated; its only settlement of consequence is the hamlet of Cragsmoor . In the past, the ridge was chiefly noted for mining and logging and

210-450: A boom-era of huckleberry picking. Fires were regularly set to burn away the undergrowth and stimulate new growth of huckleberry bushes. Today the ridge has become known for its outdoor recreation, most notably as one of the major rock climbing areas of North America, with many guides offering rock climbing trips in the area. Also known for its biodiversity and scenic character, the ridge has been designated by The Nature Conservancy as

315-475: A cool microenvironment that supports several northern species such as black spruce , hemlock, rowan , and creeping snowberry (Gaultheria hispidula), and bryophytes such as Isopterygium distichaceum. These ice caves are concentrated near Sam's Point in the northern Shawangunks. Larger limestone caverns occur along the lower slopes of the Rondout and Delaware River valleys. Lakes and wetlands occur mostly on

420-491: A critical factor in their success. Subsequently, the range of natural resources that any one protected area may guard is vast. Many will be allocated primarily for species conservation whether it be flora or fauna or the relationship between them, but protected areas are similarly important for conserving sites of (indigenous) cultural importance and considerable reserves of natural resources such as; Annual updates on each of these analyses are made in order to make comparisons to

525-574: A few emergent marshes. The ridge is primarily Shawangunk Conglomerate , a hard, silica - cemented sedimentary conglomerate of white quartz pebbles and sandstone that directly overlies the Martinsburg Formation , a thick sequence of turbidite deposits of dark gray shale and greywacke . The Martinsburg Formation was deposited in a deep ocean basin during the Ordovician (470 million years ago). The Shawangunk Conglomerate

630-640: A global network contribute to achieving the three objectives of the Convention and the 2010 target to significantly reduce the current rate of biodiversity loss ." In 2010, protected areas were included in Target 11 of the CBD's Strategic Plan for Biodiversity , known as the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. Target 11 states: In 2018, to complement protected areas across landscapes and seascapes,

735-623: A low flat made by the Rondout Creek and Sandburgh Creek, the Basha Kill and various small kills, as well as the Neversink River and Delaware River at the southern end. These adjacent valleys are underlain by relatively weak sedimentary rock (e.g., sandstone, shale, limestone). There is an unusual diversity of vegetation on the ridge, containing species typically found north of this region alongside species typically found to

840-482: A nationwide survey that compares the biodiversity of Bhutan's protected areas versus that of intervening non-protected areas. The study indicated that Bhutan's protected areas "are effectively conserving medium and large mammal species, as demonstrated through the significant difference in mammal diversity between protected areas, biological corridors, and non-protected areas with the strongest difference between protected areas and non-protected areas". Protected areas had

945-577: A phrase invented by the Indians to describe some feature of the landscape. Fried also notes that the name's swift spread in the deed record suggests it was in use as a proper name before the Bruyn purchase. Shawangunk appears nowhere in reference to the fort in the extensive, translated Dutch record of the Second Esopus War. Shawangunk became associated with the ridge during the 18th century. In

1050-708: A protected area or an entire network of protected areas may lie within a larger geographic zone that is recognised as a terrestrial or marine ecoregions (see Global 200 ), or a Crisis Ecoregions for example. As a result, Protected Areas can encompass a broad range of governance types. A wide variety of rights-holders and stakeholders are involved in the governance and management of protected areas, including forest protected areas, such as government agencies and ministries at various levels, elected and traditional authorities, indigenous peoples and local communities, private individuals and non-profit trusts, among others. Most protected-area and forest management institutions acknowledge

1155-662: A protected area. Scientific publications have identified 3,749 enacted PADDD events in 73 countries since 1892 which have collectively impacted an area approximately the size of Mexico. PADDD is a historical and contemporary phenomenon. 78% of PADDD events worldwide were enacted since 2000 and governments in at least 14 countries are currently considering at least 46 PADDD proposals. Proximate causes of PADDD vary widely but most PADDD events globally (62%) are related to industrial scale resource extraction and development – infrastructure, industrial agriculture, mining, oil and gas, forestry, fisheries, and industrialization. PADDD challenges

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1260-875: A ravine to rejoin the Appalachian Trail at Sunfish Pond. Running from Springer Mountain , Georgia to Mt. Katahdin in Baxter State Park , Maine , the Appalachian Trail enters the Delaware Water Gap at the Delaware River on the Route 80 Bridge. It goes to Sunfish Pond, and continues northeast to Stokes State Forest . The trail crosses Route 206 and continues along the ridgeline of the Kittatinny Mountains to High Point State Park , eventually entering New York . Of

1365-551: A significant area for its conservation programs. The English name, Shawangunk, derives from the Dutch Scha-wan-gunk, the closest European transcription from the colonial deed record of the Munsee Lenape , Schawankunk (German orthography). Lenape linguist Raymond Whritenour reports that schawan is an inanimate intransitive verb meaning "it is smoky air" or "there is smoky air". Its noun-like participle

1470-520: A source of aesthetic and cultural value for tourism and heritage. Such services are often overlooked by humanity, due to the ecosystem from which they originate being far from urbanized areas. The contamination of ecosystem services within a designated area ultimately degrades their use for society. For example, the protection of a water body inherently protects that water body's microorganisms and their ability to adequately filter pollutants and pathogens, ultimately protecting water quality itself. Therefore,

1575-482: A specific class of protected area. China, a megadiverse country , has begun implementing various protected areas in recent years. As of the year 2017, China has nearly 10,000 to 12,000 protected areas , 80% of which are nature reserves aiming to foster biodiversity conservation. These newly implemented reserves safeguard a range of ecosystems, from tropical forests to marine habitats. These protected areas encompass nearly 20% of China's land area. Natura 2000

1680-720: Is Mount Minsi , named after the Native American tribe of the area. The summit of Tammany is 1,540 ft (470 m) above sea level. In 1739, America's first botanist, John Bartram of Philadelphia , followed the course of the Delaware River in his search for American trees, evergreens and shrubs to supply new species that were formerly unknown to British naturalists. These gardeners waited months for shipments of saplings, seeds, and pinecones to be sent by sea that were then introduced into English gardens. Using Native American trails, Bartram rode on horseback through

1785-561: Is schawank, meaning "that which is smoky air". Adding the locative suffix gives us schawangunk "in the smoky air". Whritenour has suggested that the name derives from the burning of a Munsee fort by the Dutch at the eastern base of the ridge in 1663 (a massacre ending the Second Esopus War ). Use of the name spread quickly, and it was recorded in numerous land deeds and patents after the war. Historian Marc B. Fried writes: It

1890-546: Is a private protected area , also known as a 'Private Reserve' predominantly managed for biodiversity conservation, protected without formal government recognition and is owned and stewarded by the O corporation International. O parks plays a particularly important role in conserving critical biodiversity in a section of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor known as the Paso del Istmo , located along

1995-399: Is a heritage register, a list of national heritage places deemed to be of outstanding heritage significance to Australia, established in 2003. The list includes natural and historic places, including those of cultural significance to Indigenous Australians . Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) are formed by agreement with Indigenous Australians, and declared by Indigenous Australians, and form

2100-532: Is a network of protected areas established by the EU across all member states. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and Special Protection Areas (SPAs) designated respectively under the Habitats Directive and Birds Directive . 787,767 km (304,159 sq mi) are designated as terrestrial sites and 251,564 km (97,129 sq mi) as marine sites. Overall, 18 percent of

2205-478: Is also a widely used familiar term for the ridge and has been in use at least since the mid-19th century. In a letter dated August and postmarked August 8, 1838, Hudson River School painter Thomas Cole corresponding with painter A.B. Durand writes, "Do let me hear from you when you get among the Gunks . I hope you will find every thing there your heart can wish." The Shawangunks, particularly around Lake Mohonk, were

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2310-413: Is conceivable that this was...the Indians' own proper name for their village [and fort] and that the name was appropriated for use in subsequent land dealings because of the proximity of the...tracts to the former Indian village....The second possibility is that the name simply came into existence in connection with the Bruyn [purchase of Jan., 1682, the first appearance of the name in documentary record], as

2415-411: Is currently a developing country that is undergoing infrastructure development and resource collection. The country's economic progression has brought about human-wildlife conflict and increased pressure on the existence of its protected areas. In light of ongoing disputes on the topic of optimal land usage, Dorji (et al.), in a study using camera traps to detect wildlife activity, summarize the results of

2520-661: Is listed on the National Historic Lookout Register. The tower remains, but both it and the surrounding area are closed to the public. In 1912, the Conservation Commission built a wood fire lookout tower on the ridge east of Ellenville on High Point. In 1919, the Conservation Commission replaced it with a 47-foot-tall (14 m) Aermotor LS40 steel fire lookout tower. Due to increased use of aerial detection,

2625-577: Is now closed to the public. Protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood, non-timber forest products , water, ...) is limited. The term "protected area" also includes marine protected areas and transboundary protected areas across multiple borders. As of 2016, there are over 161,000 protected areas representing about 17 percent of

2730-425: Is often why many Wildlife Reserves and National Parks face the human threat of poaching for the illegal bushmeat or trophy trades, which are resorted to as an alternative form of substinence. Poaching has thus increased in recent years as areas with certain species are no longer easily and legally accessible. This increasing threat has often led governments to enforce laws and implement new policies to adhere to

2835-453: Is on the western side of the gap near the base. The eastern side of the gap has Ordovician Martinsburg shale. Sedimentary rock is along the river. The Bloomsburg Red Beds, a red shale, are at the gap under Dunnfield Creek. The Delaware Water Gap is nearly 1,300 feet (400 m) wide at river level and about 1 mile (1.6 km) wide from the top of Mt. Tammany to the top of Mt. Minsi. It is more than 1,200 feet (370 m) from mountaintop to

2940-684: Is owned by the Mohonk Mountain House and rock climbing requires authorized guides. Rock climbing is also permitted on the Peterskill and Dickie Barre cliff areas of Minnewaska State Park Preserve . The height of the cliff varies along the ridgeline, to a maximum of some 300 feet (91 m). In 1930, the Conservation Department built a 60-foot-tall (18 m) Aermotor LS40 steel fire lookout tower and observers cabin on Sayers Hill (Pocatello Mountain). The tower

3045-488: Is recognised not only ecologically, but culturally through further development in the arena of Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs). ICCAs are "natural and/or modified ecosystems containing significant bio - diversity values and ecological services, voluntarily conserved by (sedentary and mobile) indigenous and local communities, through customary laws or other effective means". As of December 2022, 17% of land territory and 10% of ocean territory were protected. At

3150-687: Is the Main Ridge Forest Reserve, established by an ordinance dated 13 April 1776. Other sources mention the 1778 approval of a protected area on then- Khan Uul , a mountain previous protected by local nomads for centuries in Mongolia, by then-ruling Qing China Tenger Tetgegch Khaan . However, the mass protected areas movement did not begin until late nineteenth-century in North America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, when other countries were quick to follow suit. While

3255-586: Is to protect 30% of the terrestrial and marine territory of the United States by the year 2030. In the United Kingdom, the term conservation area almost always applies to an area (usually urban or the core of a village) of special architectural or historic interest, the character of which is considered worthy of preservation or enhancement. It creates a precautionary approach to the loss or alteration of buildings and/or trees, thus it has some of

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3360-404: Is trapped by the bedrock or till, there are interspersed lakes and wetland areas. Soils on top of shale are thicker, less acidic, and more fertile. Topography on the top of the northern Shawangunks is irregular due to a series of faults that form secondary plateaus and escarpments. Ice caves are deep fissures in the conglomerate bedrock that retain ice through much of the summer, resulting in

3465-546: Is usually the main reason for constructing protected areas, the protection of biodiversity also protects the ecosystem services society enjoys. Some ecosystem services include those that provide and regulate resources, support natural processes, or represent culture. Provisioning services provide resources to humanity, such as fuel and water, while regulating services include carbon sequestration , climate regulation, and protection against disease. Supporting ecosystem services include nutrient cycling , while cultural services are

3570-476: The 2022 United Nations Biodiversity Conference almost 200 countries, signed onto the agreement which includes protecting 30% of land and oceans by 2030 ( 30 by 30 ). In 1992, a protected area was defined in paragraph 2 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) as "a geographically defined area which is designated or regulated and managed to achieve specific conservation objectives." Under Article 8 of

3675-636: The Congress authorized the building of a dam across the Delaware River at Tocks Island, upstream of the water gap. Meant to control hurricane-related flooding, it was never built. The land for the proposed reservoir, which had already been purchased, was used to create the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in 1965. There are two visitor centers, one in New Jersey near the Delaware River bridge and

3780-997: The European Union in its Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 , Campaign for Nature which promoted the goal during the Convention on Biodiversity 's COP15 Summit and the G7 . In December 2022, Nations have reached an agreement with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework at the COP15, which includes the 30 by 30 initiative. Protected areas are implemented for biodiversity conservation , often providing habitat and protection from hunting for threatened and endangered species . Protection helps maintain ecological processes that cannot survive in most intensely managed landscapes and seascapes. Indigenous peoples and local communities frequently criticize this method of fortress conservation for

3885-535: The Millennium Development Goals and several other fields of analysis are expected to be introduced in the monitoring of protected areas management effectiveness, such as freshwater and marine or coastal studies which are currently underway, and islands and drylands which are currently in planning. The effectiveness of protected areas to protect biodiversity can be estimated by comparing population changes over time. Such an analysis found that

3990-473: The Near Trapps , The Trapps , and Skytop . Of these four, The Trapps, is the longest, the most popular and most accessible, with the largest number of climbing routes . The Near Trapps is located immediately across Route 44/55 from The Trapps, and is second in popularity. Millbrook Mountain , the highest and most southerly cliff, is the most remote, and sees the least climbing activity. The Skytop cliff

4095-549: The United Nations Environment Programme , the United States had a total of 6770 terrestrial nationally designated (federal) protected areas. These protected areas cover 2,607,131 km (1,006,619 sq mi), or 27.08 percent of the land area of the United States. This is also one-tenth of the protected land area of the world. According to a report from the Center for American Progress ,

4200-668: The World Charter for Nature in 1982, the Rio Declaration at the Earth Summit in 1992, and the Johannesburg Declaration 2002. Recently, the importance of protected areas has been brought to the fore at the threat of human-induced global heating and the understanding of the necessity to consume natural resources in a sustainable manner. The spectrum of benefits and values of protected areas

4305-610: The Yosemite Decimal System scale. Climbers follow the gray dot trail along Route 80, then pass the large rock face, then go up the path to the route they choose. Beginning in 2010, the Pennsylvania side has been periodically closed to climbing during the nesting season for the endangered peregrine falcons . The Easton Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America operated Weygadt Scout Reservation at

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4410-534: The 12-mile-wide isthmus between Lake Nicaragua and the Pacific Ocean. On 21 May 2019, The Moscow Times cited a World Wildlife Fund report indicating that Russia now ranks first in the world for its amount of protected natural areas with 63.3 million hectares of specially protected natural areas. However, the article did not contain a link to WWF's report and it may be based on previously gathered data. As of 31 January 2008 , according to

4515-457: The 17th and 18th centuries, protected areas were mostly hunting grounds of rulers and thus, on the one hand, an expression of the absolute personal authority of a monarch, and on the other hand, they were concentrated in certain places and diminished with increasing spatial distance from the seat of power. In the late 19th century, modern territorial states emerged which, thanks to the transport and communication technologies of industrialisation and

4620-549: The 2,174 miles (3,499 km) of trail, 28 miles (45 km) are within the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Additional trails also traverse through the area. The gap is a popular place to rock-climb in New Jersey. The climbs are 150 to 300 ft (46 to 91 m). Most climbing is done on the New Jersey side due to easier access. There are about one hundred climbs on the New Jersey side. Climbs range from 5.1 to 5.14 on

4725-588: The Appalachian Trail at High Point State Park in New Jersey. It generally follows the spectacular Shawangunk Ridge north, occasionally using abandoned roads and rail beds. The New York/New Jersey Trail Conference lists seventeen recommended hikes on the Ridge. The development of rock climbing in the Shawangunks is attributed to Fritz Wiessner and Hans Kraus , pioneers of modern rock climbing. It has historically been centered around four major cliffs: Millbrook ,

4830-646: The CBD, parties who entered the treaty agreed to, among other things, "establish a system of protected areas." In 2004, the CBD's Conference of the Parties (COP) adopted the Program of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA) to further develop and promote protected areas. PoWPA's objective was the "establishment and maintenance by 2010 for terrestrial and by 2012 for marine areas of comprehensive, effectively managed, and ecologically representative national and regional systems of protected areas that collectively, inter alia through

4935-521: The EU land mass is designated. Protected areas of India include National parks , Wildlife sanctuaries , biosphere reserves , reserved and protected forests , conservation and community reserves , communal forests , private protected areas and conservation areas . Lebanon, home to one of the highest densities of floral diversity in the Mediterranean basin , hosts tree species with critical biogeographical locations (southernmost limit) on

5040-541: The Mohonk Preserve protects and manages over 8,000 acres of the Shawangunk Ridge, including the world-renowned Trapps climbing cliffs, and features over 70 miles of historic carriage roads and trails. In 2007 Shawangunk Ridge State Forest and Witches Hole State Forest were added. The Long Path long-distance hiking trail follows the ridge from Sullivan County to the vicinity of Kerhonkson ; south of it

5145-607: The Shawangunk Conglomerate, are exposed north of Shawangunk Ridge in the Rosendale Natural Cement Region, where they can be directly examined in abandoned mines. Strata along the eastern margin of Shawangunk Ridge are truncated by erosion, resulting in the prominent cliffs characteristic of Shawangunk Ridge. The Shawangunk Conglomerate is very hard and resistant to weathering ; whereas the underlying shale erodes relatively easily. Thus,

5250-788: The Shawangunk Ridge Trail connects to the Appalachian Trail near High Point . There are several old carriage trails on the Ridge including; Smiley Road from Ellenville into Minnewaska State Park Preserve; and Old Plank Road and Old Mountain Road in Shawangunk Ridge State Forest. Many of the foot trails are updated and maintained by the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference . There are also many waterfalls in

5355-490: The Shawangunk region, such as: VerKeerderkill Falls , Awosting Falls , and Vernooy Kill Falls. In 2004, a luxury development plan for buildings has threatened the ridge line, and as a result a grassroots "Save the Ridge" campaign has become extremely popular in the area. In 2006 a court ordered the sale of property by the private owner to settle a case brought on by the developer. The Open Space Institute of NY purchased

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5460-520: The United Nations. The categories provide international standards for defining protected areas and encourage conservation planning according to their management aims. IUCN Protected Area Management Categories : Protected areas are cultural artifacts, and their story is entwined with that of human civilization. Protecting places and natural resources is by no means a modern concept, whether it be indigenous communities guarding sacred sites or

5565-585: The Water Gap, which allowed entry to the lands beyond. A northern deciduous forest cloaks the slopes of the Delaware Water Gap. Hardwood species comprising the forest include various oaks , hickories , maples , ash , elm , cherry , walnut , birch , sycamore , and beech . Coniferous species include Eastern White Pine , Pitch Pine , Eastern Red Cedar , and Eastern Hemlock . Black bear , white-tailed deer , gray squirrels , red squirrels , raccoons , gray fox , fisher , and chipmunks are some of

5670-455: The abundance of 2,239 terrestrial vertebrate populations changed at slower rate in protected areas. On average, vertebrate populations declined five times more slowly within protected areas (−0.4% per year) than at similar sites lacking protection (−1.8% per year). Along with providing important stocks of natural resources, protected areas are often major sources of vital ecosystem services , unbeknownst to human society. Although biodiversity

5775-401: The administration of Joe Biden reached a record in conservation. In 3 years of ruling it conserved or in the process of conserving more than 24 millions acres of public land and in 2023 alone more than 12.5 million acres of public land became protected area. It is doing it together with the indigenous people as 200 agreements of co-stewardship with them were signed in 2023 alone. The goal of Biden

5880-417: The area. The Wisconsin glaciation , which occurred between 21,000 BCE and 13,000 BCE, covered the entire Kittatinny Ridge and ended near Belvidere. When the glaciers retreated, the existing gap assumed its present form. The mountain is composed of Silurian shawangunk conglomerate . This is gray quartzite, which makes the mountain highly resistant to weathering. The Silurian High Fall formation of sandstone

5985-690: The base of Mount Tammany from 1931 until 1968. The Reservation was originally home to two Scout camps—the Easton Council's Camp Weygadt on the southern part of the reservation and the Minsi Trails Council's Camp Minsi on the northern section of the reservation. In the later part of the 1930s, the Bethlehem Council moved their camp to the Poconos, and the entire reservation in the Water Gap became Camp Weygadt. Camp Minsi

6090-473: The closely meshed and well-connected administrative apparatus that came with it, could actually assert claims to power over large contiguous territories. The establishment of nature reserves in mostly peripheral regions thus became possible and at the same time underpinned the new state claim to power. Initially, protected areas were recognised on a national scale, differing from country to country until 1933, when an effort to reach an international consensus on

6195-543: The convention of European hunting reserves. Over 2000 years ago, royal decrees in India protected certain areas. In Europe, rich and powerful people protected hunting grounds for a thousand years. Moreover, the idea of protection of special places is universal: for example, it occurs among the communities in the Pacific ("tapu" areas) and in parts of Africa (sacred groves). The oldest legally protected reserve recorded in history

6300-531: The draft Global Biodiversity Framework, which is due to be agreed at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, which will be held 5 to 17 December in Montreal , Canada. How to manage areas protected for conservation brings up a range of challenges – whether it be regarding the local population, specific ecosystems or the design of the reserve itself – and because of

6405-533: The eastern side of what was to be Kittatinny Mountain was uplifted 450 million years ago when a chain of volcanic islands collided with proto-North America. These islands slid over the North American plate, and deposited rock on top of the plate, forming the Highlands and Kittatinny Valley. About 400 million years ago, a small continent collided with proto-North America. The heat from the pressure melted

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6510-498: The effectiveness of most of them remains unclear. Scientists advocate that 50% of global land and seas be converted to inter-connected protected areas to sustain these benefits. The Asian country Bhutan achieved this high-reaching target by reserving 51.4% of the country's area as protected areas interconnected through biological corridors . Although these networks are well regulated (local communities are aware of their importance and actively contribute to their maintenance), Bhutan

6615-480: The flat-topped ridges at the northern and southern ends of the area and, to a lesser extent, along the western side of the middle part of the ridge. Lakes and ponds occurring on conglomerates tend to be clear, nutrient-poor, and very acidic, due to the limited buffering capacity of the bedrock. The northern Shawangunks have five lakes, the "sky lakes," which are, from north to south: Mohonk Lake, Lake Minnewaska, Lake Awosting, Mud Pond, and Lake Maratanza. The pH in four of

6720-458: The forest species of the area. Hunting of deer, turkey, and small game is permitted, following NJ Fish & Wildlife regulations, but is not permitted at any of the campsites. Shad migrate up the river through the gap in the spring. Other fish include bass , trout , carp , and walleye . Dunnfield Creek has been designated a "Wild Trout Stream" because of its natural brook trout fishery. Timber rattlesnakes and copperheads also inhabit

6825-728: The gap and north toward Pahaquarry. Interstate 80 passes through the gap on the New Jersey side as of the early 1970s via the Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge , and occupies the former right-of-way of the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway . The Pennsylvania portion of the New Jersey Cut-Off mainline of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad comes into Slateford, Pennsylvania . The Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority owns

6930-639: The gap. The second trail to the top of Mt. Tammany. The most challenging hike in the park is to combine the Red Dot and Blue Blaze trails into a 3 mi (4.8 km) loop. Park Services suggest ascending the Red Dot and descending the Blue Blaze, and the Blue trail is less steep. Dunnfield Creek Trail departs from the Appalachian Trail above the Delaware River, follows the creek for two-thirds of its length with numerous stream crossings. The trail then climbs

7035-533: The generally violent processes by which the regulations of the areas are enforced. The definition that has been widely accepted across regional and global frameworks has been provided by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in its categorisation guidelines for protected areas. The definition is as follows: A clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve

7140-446: The highest levels of mammal biodiversity. This is made possible by the restriction of commercial activity and regulation of consumptive uses (firewood, timber, etc.). The regulation of such practices has allowed Bhutan's protected areas to thrive with high carnivore diversity and other rare mammals such as Chinese pangolin , Indian pangolin , mountain weasel ( Mustela altaica ) , small-toothed ferret badger , Asian small clawed otter ,

7245-509: The idea of protected areas spread around the world in the twentieth century, the driving force was different in different regions. Thus, in North America, protected areas were about safeguarding dramatic and sublime scenery; in Africa, the concern was with game parks; in Europe, landscape protection was more common. The designation of protected areas often also contained a political statement. In

7350-541: The implementation of protected areas is vital to maintaining the quality and consistency of ecosystem services, ultimately allowing human society to function without the interference of human infrastructure or policies. Through its World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), the IUCN has developed six Protected Area Management Categories that define protected areas according to their management objectives, which are internationally recognised by various national governments and

7455-453: The importance of recognizing the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, sharing the costs and benefits of protected areas and actively involving them in their governance and management. This has led to the recognition of four main types of governance, defined on the basis of who holds authority, responsibility, and who can be held accountable for the key decisions for protected areas. Indeed, governance of protected areas has emerged

7560-585: The infrastructure and networking needed to substitute consumable resources and substantively protect the area from development or misuse. The soliciting of protected areas may require regulation to the level of meeting demands for food, feed, livestock and fuel, and the legal enforcement of not only the protected area itself but also 'buffer zones' surrounding it, which may help to resist destabilisation. Protected area downgrading, downsizing, and degazettement (PADDD) Protected area downgrading, downsizing, and degazettement (PADDD) events are processes that change

7665-713: The initial goal of protected areas, though many illegal activities are often overlooked. There is increasing pressure to take proper account of human needs when setting up protected areas and these sometimes have to be "traded off" against conservation needs. Whereas in the past governments often made decisions about protected areas and informed local people afterwards, today the emphasis is shifting towards greater discussions with stakeholders and joint decisions about how such lands should be set aside and managed. Such negotiations are never easy but usually produce stronger and longer-lasting results for both conservation and people. In some countries, protected areas can be assigned without

7770-485: The lakes averages about 4 (acidic); Lake Mohonk, which partially overlays shale bedrock and is therefore partially buffered, is closer to neutral pH (7.0). The Shawangunks contain mainly public lands as well as several small residential areas. A large portion of the northern Ridge is protected by Minnewaska State Park Preserve , which also now manages Sam's Point Preserve with more than 100 miles (160 km) of hiking trails and several climbing areas. Established in 1963,

7875-597: The land and has signed it over to Minnewaska State Park Preserve. The Trust for Public Land and Open Space Institute actually agreed to purchase the land for $ 17 million. At closing, however, the contract was assigned and title was taken in the name of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission , a federally chartered commission, although the funds for the purchase apparently came from the New York state Environmental Protection Fund. Unlike

7980-528: The legal status of national parks and other protected areas in both terrestrial and marine environments. Downgrading is a decrease in legal restrictions on human activities within a protected area, downsizing is a decrease in protected area size through a legal boundary change, and degazettement is the loss of legal protection for an entire protected area. Collectively, PADDD represents legal processes that temper regulations, shrink boundaries, or eliminate legal protections originally associated with establishment of

8085-566: The legislative and policy characteristics of listed buildings and tree preservation orders . The concept was introduced in 1967, and by 2017 almost 9,800 had been designated in England. Delaware Water Gap The Delaware Water Gap is a water gap on the border of the U.S. states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains . The gap makes up

8190-686: The long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values. Protected Areas alleviate climate change effects in a variety of ways: The objective of protected areas is to conserve biodiversity and to provide a way for measuring the progress of such conservation. Protected areas will usually encompass several other zones that have been deemed important for particular conservation uses, such as Important Bird Areas (IBA) and Endemic Bird Areas (EBA), Centres of Plant Diversity (CPD), Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCA), Alliance for Zero Extinction Sites (AZE) and Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) among others. Likewise,

8295-430: The longstanding assumption that protected areas are permanent fixtures and highlights the need for decision-makers to consider protected area characteristics and the socioeconomic context in which they are situated to better ensure their permanence. A main goal of protected areas is to prevent loss of biodiversity . However, their effectiveness is limited by their small size and isolation from each other (which influence

8400-424: The maintenance of species), their restricted role in preventing climate change , invasive species , and pollution, their high costs, and their increasing conflict with human demands for nature's resources. In addition, the type of habitat, species composition, legal issues and governance, play important roles. One major problem is that only 18% of the area covered by protected areas have been assessed, hence

8505-596: The major public land holdings on the Shawangunk Ridge, the Mohonk Preserve is a private land trust requiring a day fee depending on use. In May 2007 the state Department of Environmental Conservation initiated the development of its Shawangunk Ridge Unit Management Plan to include Shawangunk Multiple Use Area , Witch's Hole State Forest , Shawangunk Ridge State Forest , Roosa Gap State Forest , Wurtsboro Ridge State Forest , Huckleberry Ridge State Forest , and three detached Forest Preserve parcels. The goal of

8610-479: The many unpredicatable elements in ecology issues, each protected area requires a case-specific set of guidelines. Enforcing protected area boundaries is a costly and labour-heavy endeavour, particularly if the allocation of a new protected region places new restrictions on the use of resources by the native people which may lead to their subsequent displacement. This has troubled relationships between conservationists and rural communities in many protected regions and

8715-710: The networks that hold regular revisions for the succinct categorisations that have been developed to regulate and record protected areas. In 1972, the Stockholm Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment endorsed the protection of representative examples of all major ecosystem types as a fundamental requirement of national conservation programmes. This has become a core principle of conservation biology and has remained so in recent resolutions – including

8820-417: The original Lenape, the word is tri-syllabic, Sha-wan-gun, although in an occasional 18th-century deed it is written with a fourth syllable. The correct pronunciation approximates sha (short a) - wan (as in want) - goon (as in book). The trailing k is sub vocal and modifies the sound of the n. European colonists began to truncate Shawangunk into "Shongum" ( / ˈ ʃ ɒ n ɡ ʌ m / SHON -gum ). Shongum

8925-533: The other in Dingman's Ferry, Pennsylvania . Headquarters is located on River Road in Pennsylvania. The New Jersey side of the gap is also protected within Worthington State Forest , a forest wholly contained within the recreation area. One of two trails leading up 1,200 vertical feet to the summit of Mt. Tammany. Once completed, one can see views of Mt. Minsi in Pennsylvania on the other side of

9030-416: The park is open 24-hours a day, with most day-use areas within the park open sunrise to sunset (such as trailhead parking lots, Millbrook Village, and all picnic areas). A water gap is a geological feature where a river cuts through a mountain ridge. The Delaware Water Gap formed 500 million years ago when quartz pebbles from mountains in the area were deposited in a shallow sea. The Martinsburg Shale on

9135-454: The project was to develop "management objectives" for the properties, including those concerning permissible forms of public recreation and access. Following an announcement of the project's launch, no further statements had been issued by the DEC regarding its work as of June 2009. The Shawangunk Ridge Trail heads north approximately 40 miles (64 km), to Sam's Point Preserve in New York from

9240-442: The quartz conglomerate forms cliffs and talus slopes, particularly along the eastern margin of the ridge. The entire ridge was glaciated during the last Wisconsin glaciation , which scoured the ridges, left pockets of till , and dumped talus (blocks of rock) off the east side of the ridge. On top of the ridge, the soils are generally thin, highly acidic, low in nutrients, and droughty, but in depressions and other areas where water

9345-427: The quartzite, which allowed it to bend the quartz pebbles. This layer was then uplifted and cracked over thousands of years. During this period, the Delaware River slowly cut its path down through the shattered and cracked quartzite. If the quartzite had not been cracked, the river would not have been able to cut its path through the mountain to form the gap. Millions of years of rain, ice, snow, and wind erosion shaped

9450-826: The river surface. The river through the gap is 290 feet (88 m) above sea level. The ridge of the Appalachians that the Delaware River crosses is called the Blue Mountains in Pennsylvania and the Kittatinny Ridge in Warren County, New Jersey . This is the first major ridge of the Appalachian mountains. New Jersey's mountain is Mount Tammany , named after the Lenni-Lenape Chief Tamanend . The Pennsylvania mountain

9555-414: The rocky areas of the mountain. Salamanders are found in the moist areas of the forest. Eastern prickly pear cactus also grows on the mountain near the red dot trail on the south eastern facing slope halfway up the mountain. Steep rock walls prohibited foot travel through the gap until a road was built on the Pennsylvania side of the river in 1793. In 1830, a road was built on the New Jersey side through

9660-687: The south or restricted to the Coastal Plain. The results is an area where many regionally rare plants are found at or near the limits of their ranges. Other rare species found in the area are those adapted to the harsh conditions on the ridge. Upland communities include chestnut oak and mixed-oak forest, pine barrens including dwarf pine ridges, hemlock -northern hardwood forest, and cliff and talus slope and cave communities. Wetlands include small lakes and streams, bogs , pitch pine - blueberry peat swamps, an inland Atlantic white cypress swamp, red maple swamps, acidic seeps, calcareous seeps, and

9765-692: The southern portion of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area , which is used primarily for recreational purposes, such as canoeing , fishing , hiking , and rock climbing . Though the US National Park Service manages the National Recreation Area, portions of the water gap are also patrolled by New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry . The park does not charge an entrance fee but does have expanded amenity fees, including vehicle season and daily passes, bicycles amenity fees, and charges for beach use. Most of

9870-821: The standards and terminology of protected areas took place at the International Conference for the Protection of Fauna and Flora in London. At the 1962 First World Conference on National Parks in Seattle the effect the Industrial Revolution had had on the world's natural environment was acknowledged, and the need to preserve it for future generations was established. Since then, it has been an international commitment on behalf of both governments and non-government organisations to maintain

9975-637: The subject for several Hudson River School painters. The Shawangunk Ridge is the northern end of a long ridge within the Appalachian Mountains that begins in Virginia , where it is called North Mountain , continues through Pennsylvania as Blue Mountain , becomes known as the Kittatinny Mountains after it crosses the Delaware Water Gap into New Jersey and becomes the Shawangunks at the New York state line. These mountains mark

10080-653: The term ' other effective area-based conservation measures ' was defined as "a geographically defined area other than a Protected Area, which is governed and managed in ways that achieve positive and sustained long-term outcomes for the in situ conservation of biodiversity, with associated ecosystem functions and services and where applicable, cultural, spiritual, socio-economic, and other locally relevant values." Other effective area-based conservation measures complement protected areas across landscapes, seascapes, and river basins. Protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures are referenced together in Target 3 of

10185-506: The tiger, dhole ( Cuon alpinus ), Binturong , clouded leopard and Tibetan fox ( Vulpes ferrilata ) . Also found to be prevalent were the large herbivore species: Asiatic water buffalo Bubalus arnee , golden langur , musk deer , and Asian elephant . The maintenance of these charismatic megafauna and other threatened species can be attributed to the intensity of Bhutan's management of its protected areas and its local communities' commitment to preserving them. The National Heritage List

10290-410: The tower ceased fire lookout operation at the end of the 1971 fire lookout season, and was later removed. In 1948, the Conservation Department built a 35-foot-tall (11 m) Aermotor steel fire lookout tower on the ridge northeast of Wurtsboro . Due to increased use of aerial detection, the tower ceased fire lookout operations at the end of the 1972 fire lookout season. The tower was later sold, and

10395-457: The trackage in the Water Gap area. Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad operates the lines that run through the gap. Pennsylvania Route 611 occupies the right-of-way of a former trolley line. Martz Trailways has a bus station within the municipal boundaries of Delaware Water Gap. There are also numerous jitneys that stop there on their route between New York City and towns further areas such as Hazleton , Wilkes-Barre , and Scranton . In 1962,

10500-566: The western and northern edge of the Great Appalachian Valley . The ridge is widest (7.5 miles (12.1 km)) near the northern end and narrow in the middle (1.25 miles (2.01 km)), with a maximum elevation of 2,289 feet (698 m) near Lake Maratanza . The ridge rises above a broad, high plain which stretches to the Hudson River to the east. On the west the low foothills of the Appalachian Mountains mingle with

10605-527: The western slopes of Mount Lebanon’s mountain range and has passed laws to protect environmental sites at the national level, including nature reserves, forests, and Hima (local community-based conservation), with some of these sites having acquired one or more international designations: There are three biosphere reserves in Lebanon that have been designated by the UNESCO : O Parks, Wildlife, and Recreation

10710-520: The world's land surface area (excluding Antarctica). For waters under national jurisdiction beyond inland waters, there are 14,688 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), covering approximately 10.2% of coastal and marine areas and 4.12% of global ocean areas. In contrast, only 0.25% of the world's oceans beyond national jurisdiction are covered by MPAs. In recent years, the 30 by 30 initiative has targeted to protect 30% of ocean territory and 30% of land territory worldwide by 2030; this has been adopted by

10815-794: Was deposited over the Martinsburg Formation in thick braided river deposits during the Silurian (about 420 million years ago); both sequences of sedimentary rock were subsequently deformed in a continental collision associated during the assembly of the Pangean supercontinent during the Permian (about 270 million years ago). This collision deformed strata within the ridge in a northward plunging series of asymmetric folds (e.g., anticlines and synclines ) that are inclined gently westward. These same folds, involving strata that overlie

10920-635: Was mistakenly identified as the Munsee pronunciation by the Reverend Charles Scott writing on Shawangunk's etymology for the Ulster County Historical Society in 1861. The error has been reinforced in ethnographic sources and ridge literature, and by historians, librarians, and ridge educators for more than 140 years. Both "Shawangunk" and "Shongum" are popular usages among locals native to the region. The "Gunks"

11025-488: Was purchased with funds provided from the county and town, to protect the eastern and southern slopes of the Shawangunk Ridge. The tower was dismantled and moved to its current location in 1948. The tower ceased fire lookout operations at the end of the 1988 fire lookout season. It was officially closed in early 1989 by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation . The Graham Lookout Tower

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