Conference Program

SHARED GROUND: COLLABORATIVE APPROACHES TO CATSKILLS 
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH

October 22-24, 2025
Belleayre Mountain, Highmount, NY

The Catskill Environmental Research and Monitoring (CERM) Conference program from October 22-24, 2025 will feature a Keynote Address and two days of platform presentations. Evening activities include a popular Poster Session & Mixer and a Conference Dinner with speaker program. A Student Research Breakfast gives students and faculty mentors an opportunity to discuss research needs with local resource managers and funders. Several Field Trips to nearby locations provide opportunities for networking and collaboration. See the full conference schedule below.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Keynote Presentation (Day 1): Dr. Colin Beier

Does New York’s Path to ‘Net Zero’ Go Through the Catskills? 

Mapping and monitoring climate benefits of Catskill forests and their role in achieving statewide carbon neutrality. 

The CERM Conference keynote presentation will be delivered by Dr. Colin Beier. Dr. Beier will share a multifaceted look at the past, present, and potential future climate benefits provided by the forests of the Catskills region. Using high-resolution time-series maps developed in the NY Forest Carbon Assessment, he will reconstruct the last 30+ years of forest biomass, carbon, and land use dynamics across the region. Zooming in to local scales, he will explore how and why forest carbon storage and sequestration has varied over space and time due to both natural and anthropogenic factors. Zooming out, he will situate the Catskills in the context of the statewide forest carbon sink, the region’s role in achieving ‘net zero’ by 2050 targets, and opportunities and obstacles along the way. Last, he will share updates on models, data products, decision-tools and how ongoing partnerships are leveraging these outputs to advance practical and sustainable climate solutions.

About Colin Beier, PhD: Colin Beier is Director of the Climate & Applied Forest Research Institute (CAFRI) and Professor in the Department of Sustainable Resources Management at SUNY College of Environmental Science in Forestry (ESF), where he teaches forest ecology and coordinates the Forest Ecosystem Science degree program. He is an interdisciplinary ecologist who studies the resilience of forested landscapes in a rapidly changing world through applied and translational research meant to address complexity and support practical decision-making.  Dr. Beier has co-authored over 75 refereed publications and has led or collaborated on dozens of research and service-oriented projects since joining ESF in 2007, often in partnership with state and federal agencies. Currently, he is lead investigator on long-term ecosystem monitoring programs at Huntington Forest in the Adirondacks (adk-ltm.org), as well as ongoing efforts building on and applying the outputs of the 2023 New York Forest Carbon Assessment. He received his PhD in systems ecology from University of Alaska-Fairbanks in 2007 and his MSc in forest ecology from Virginia Tech in 2002. He lives with his family on the unceded Onondaga territory currently known as Syracuse.

Dinner Presentation (Day 2): Dr. Uldis Roze

Catskills, Porcupines, Fishers

The CERM Conference Dinner Presenter is Dr. Uldis Roze. The Catskills region of New York is a region where humans and wildlife coexist. Humans typically occupy the river valleys, wildlife such as the porcupines occupy the forested mountains. Female porcupines have home ranges that are relatively small, permanent, and defended against other females. Male home ranges are large, changeable, and undefended. I present the life history of a radio-collared female who was followed for 21 years and remains the oldest recorded wild porcupine. In 1976-79 the fisher, a porcupine predator, was introduced in the Southern Catskills. They reached my study area in the Northern Catskills in the 1980s. Porcupines of Northern Catskills have proved more resistant to fisher attack than shown in other studies of fisher-porcupine interactions.

Dr. Uldis Roze is Professor Emeritus of Queens College at the City University of New York and a foremost expert on the North American porcupine. Dr. Roze was faculty in the Department of Biology at Queens College from 1964-2003. He holds PhD. from Washington University St. Louis and a BSc from the University of Chicago. In addition to numerous peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Roze has written several popular books on porcupine, including The North American Porcupine (2009) and Porcupines, the Animal Answer Guide (2012). Dr. Roze lives in the Catskills region of upstate New York where his studies continue.

Listen to a podcast of Dr. Roze with host Brett Barry exploring the fascinating world of the North America porcupine at https://www.kaatscast.com/porcupine-pursuits-with-uldis-roze/.

Read a book by Dr. Roze that is often cited in scholarly articles: https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9780801446467/the-north-american-porcupine/#bookTabs=1.

Detailed Conference Program (subject to change)

Day 1 – Wednesday, October 22, 2025

8:00	Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:00	Welcome and Opening Remarks Opening Remarks: Leslie Zucker, CCE Ulster County Continuing Coordinated Research in the Catskills: Fiona Watts (tentative), NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation Importance of Catskills Natural Resources: Senator Michelle Hinchey (tentative), NYS Legislature
9:15	Keynote Address Does New York’s path to ‘net zero’ go through the Catskills? Mapping and monitoring climate benefits of Catskill forests and their role in achieving statewide carbon neutrality Dr. Colin Beier, Director of the Climate & Applied Forest Research Institute and Professor in the Department of Sustainable Resources Management at SUNY College of Environmental Science in Forestry
10:00	Session 1 – Forests (Main Hall) Moderator: Josh Ginsburg, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies Old-growth forest mapping and characteristics in the Catskills Forest Preserve Presenter: Tim Howard, New York Natural Heritage Program Forest regeneration in the wake of beech leaf disease along an urban to rural gradient Presenter: Justin Bowers, CUNY
10:40	Break
11:00	Session 1 – Forests (continued) Moderator: Josh Ginsburg, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies Interactions between climate change and other anthropogenic drivers of carbon sequestration in Northeastern forests Presenter: Charlie Canham, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies Forest ecosystem response to climate change and potential water quality impacts in the NYC Watersheds Presenter: Phoebe Aron, Hazen and Sawyer Research forest siting Presenter: Dan Bogan, Sienna College
12:00	Buffet Lunch
1:30	Session 2 – Climate, Carbon and Hydrology Moderator: Dorothy Peteet, NASA/GISS & Columbia University How has carbon shifted with climate change at Maplecrest Fen, Catskills during the past 13,500 years? Presenter: Dorothy Peteet, NASA/GISS & Columbia University Macrofossil stratigraphy of Perch Lake from 14,000 years ago to present Presenter: Jenna Black, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University Palynological history of Perch Lake in the Western Catskill Mountains, Andes, New York Presenter: Amy Maria Menegay, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University Estimated New York City Water Supply reliability over the years 1450 to 2020 using paleohydrologic reconstructions derived from tree ring sample data Presenter: John Clayton, Hazen and Sawyer Flood frequency in the Catskills: Changes over time Presenter: Robin Glas, U.S. Geological Survey
3:30	Break
3:45	Session 3 – Varied Presentations (Main Hall) Moderator: Stacie Howell, Sullivan County SWCD
5:00	Poster Session & Mixer (Loft Room) Join us for an excellent opportunity to mingle with fellow natural resource managers, researchers, and students. Free appetizers and a cash bar.

Day 2 – Thursday, October 23, 2025

8:00	Registration and Conference Information Desk Open (Cafeteria Entrance Foyer) Continential Breakfast (Cafeteria)
9:00	Conference Opening (Main Hall) Opening Remarks: Leslie Zucker, CCE Ulster County
9:05	Session 4 – Streams and Sediment (Main Hall) Moderator: Dany Davis, NYC Department of Environmental Protection Collaborative rewards in the upper Esopus Creek watershed turbidity study Presenter: Dany Davis, NYC Department of Environmental Protection An integrated research approach to sediment management in an unfiltered water-supply watershed Presenter: Jason Siemion, U.S. Geological Survey Reductions in turbidity at a restored headwater stream Presenter: Don Bonville, U.S. Geological Survey
10:10	Break
10:40	Session 5 – New Technologies Changing the Way We Do Research and Monitoring (Main Hall) Moderator: Mark Vian, (Retired) Expanded monitoring and operational efficiencies gained from non-contact sensors deployed from drones and fixed-mount continuous installations in the Delaware River Basin Presenter: Chris Gazoorian, U.S. Geological Survey Graph neural network for turbidity prediction in the Upper Esopus Creek Watershed Presenter: George Harrison Myers, University of Vermont Forecasting in-stream turbidity using machine learning and a high-frequency sensor network Presenter: John T. Kemper, Utah State University
12:00	Lunch
1:30	Session 6 – Streams and Water Quality (Main Hall) Moderator: Barry Baldigo, (Retired) Assessing aquatic carbon in the Catskills and implications for drinking water supply Presenter: Kevin Ryan, U.S. Geological Survey A statistical and geospatial framework for analyzing anthropogenic and geogenic controls on groundwater quality in New York State — Implications for the Catskill Region Presenter: Josh Woda, U.S. Geological Survey Evaluation of baseflow resilience across the Delaware River Basin Presenter: Martin Briggs, U.S. Geological Survey The fate of disinfection byproducts precursors in Ashokan Reservoir Presenter: Rakesh Gelda, NYC Department of Environmental Protection
2:50	Break
3:20	Session 7 – Human Induced Impacts on Public Lands (Main Hall) Moderator: Tim Howard, NY Natural Heritage Program Barcoding bycatch – Exploring techniques to maximize knowledge gained from trapping efforts Presenter: Amanda Dillon, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Montane bird research in high peaks, recreational impacts Presenter: Kara Belinsky, SUNY New Paltz Do hikers facilitate the spread of invasive plants along Catskill Mountain hiking trails? Presenter: George Kraemer, Purchase College (SUNY)
4:20	Session 8 – Environmental Management: Challenges and Success Stories (Main Hall) Moderator: Joy Damon, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies Change in NYS Wetlands regulations – Statewide and Catskills impacts Presenter: Brian Drumm, NYS Department of Environmental Protection Northern Snakehead in the Delaware Basin Presenter: NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
5:00	Networking Event (Main Hall and Patio) (cash bar available)
6:00	Speaker Dinner Catskills, Porcupines, Fishers Speaker: Dr. Uldis Rozeis Professor Emeritus of Queens College at the City University of New York and a foremost expert on the North American porcupine Dinner catered by the Phoenicia Diner

Day 3 – Friday, October 24, 2025

8:00	Registration and Conference Information Desk Open (Cafeteria Entrance Foyer) Hot Buffet Breakfast (Cafeteria)
9:00	Student Research Symposium (Loft Room)
10:30	Field Trip Assembly (Main Hall)
11:00	Field Trip Departure Field Trip 1 – In the Shelter of the Mountains: Native People and Catskill Mountain Ecosystems Field Trip 2 – Reconstructing Environmental Histories
4:30	Conclusion of CERM 2025