The Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, usually referred to as the Catskill Center, is a not-for-profit organization based in Arkville

Arkville, New York

Arkville is a hamlet of the Town of Middletown, New York, United States. It is located along state highway NY 28 a mile north of the village of Margaretville in the western Catskill Mountains. It has the ZIP Code 12406....

, New York, United States. It works to preserve the natural environment

Natural environment

The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....

 of the Catskill region

Catskill Mountains

The Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...

 and foster sustainable economic development

Economic development

Economic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area...

 in it.

Founded in 1969, it is headquartered in the historic Erpf House along state highway

State highway

State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...

 NY 28

New York State Route 28

New York State Route 28 is a state highway extending for in the shape of a "C" between the Hudson Valley city of Kingston and southern Warren County in the U.S. state of New York. Along the way, it intersects several major routes, including Interstate 88 , U.S. Route 20 , and the...

 in Arkville, just inside the Catskill Park Blue Line

Blue Line (New York State)

The Blue Line is the term used in New York state for the boundaries of the Adirondack and Catskill parks, within which can be found the state's Forest Preserve...

. It works to further its mission through different methods, from advocacy and land conservation to developing educational materials and sponsoring arts and cultural events.

Programs

The Catskill Center has seven full-time staff members. They oversee programs covering four areas: regional planning

Regional planning

Regional planning deals with the efficient placement of land use activities, infrastructure, and settlement growth across a larger area of land than an individual city or town. The related field of urban planning deals with the specific issues of city planning...

, arts and culture, education and natural resources.

The regional planning project provides support and technical assistance to the municipal planning

Planning

Planning in organizations and public policy is both the organizational process of creating and maintaining a plan; and the psychological process of thinking about the activities required to create a desired goal on some scale. As such, it is a fundamental property of intelligent behavior...

 boards of the region. They also help develop corridor

Transport corridor

A transportation corridor is a tract of land in which at least one main line for transport, be it road, rail or canal, has been built...

 management plans. Two programs cover the arts and culture section: the Erpf Gallery at the center's Arkville offices, and its artist-in-residence program at the 208 acres (84.2 ha) Platte Clove

Platte Clove

Platte Clove, sometimes Plattekill Clove, is a narrow and steep valley in the Catskill Mountains of New York. It is mostly in Greene County, although the lowest portions are in Ulster County....

 Preserve. The arts and culture section also maintains extensive historical archives.

The education program develops materials for local teachers to use as curriculum, especially the five-volume The Catskills: A Sense of Place. Other environmental education

Environmental education

Environmental education refers to organized efforts to teach about how natural environments function and, particularly, how human beings can manage their behavior and ecosystems in order to live sustainably. The term is often used to imply education within the school system, from primary to...

 programs focus on the region's streams and watersheds. The natural resources program manages the Platte Clove Preserve and the 155 acres (62.7 ha) Esopus

Esopus Creek

Esopus Creek is a tributary of the Hudson River that drains the east-central Catskill Mountains of the U.S. state of New York. From its source at Winnisook Lake on the slopes of Slide Mountain, the Catskills' highest peak, it flows across Ulster County to the Hudson at Saugerties. Many tributaries...

 Bend near Saugerties

Saugerties (village), New York

Saugerties is a village in Ulster County, New York, USA. The population was 4,955 at the 2000 census.The Village of Saugerties is a Town in the eastern part of the Town of Saugerties. U.S. Route 9W passes through the village...

. It also holds conservation easement

Conservation easement

In the United States, a conservation easement is an encumbrance — sometimes including a transfer of usage rights — which creates a legally enforceable land preservation agreement between a landowner and a government agency or a qualified land...

s on other key tracts in the region not part of the state-owned, "forever wild", Forest Preserve

Forest Preserve (New York)

New York's Forest Preserve is all the land owned by the state within the Adirondack and Catskill parks, managed by its Department of Environmental Conservation. These properties are required to be kept "forever wild" by Article 14 of the state constitution, and thus enjoy the highest degree of...

 or otherwise protected

Protected area

Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...

.