This year’s Catskill Environmental Research and Monitoring (CERM) Conference from October 22-24, 2025 will offer two field trip opportunities. Field trips allow researchers and managers to dialogue with each other across disciplines about potential collaborations.
Field Trip 1 – In the Shelter of the Mountains: Native People and Catskill Mountain Ecosystems
Friday, October 24, 11:00 AM – 4:30 PM
For centuries, local Lenape People shaped Catskill Mountain ecosystems in the vicinity of the East Branch, Rondout, Esopus, and Schoharie valleys. On this walk, we will explore how they stewarded the landscape and identify flora and fauna of cultural importance for their communities, past and present. We will also dive into how the Catskill Mountains allowed the Esopus Lenape and their neighbors to maintain their indigenous sovereignty in colonial days before they were finally driven to Ontario.
Our field trip leader will be Justin Wexler of Wild Hudson Valley. Justin is an independent scholar who has studied Hudson Valley Native culture, languages, and history for over 20 years. He regularly works with members of their displaced federally recognized communities, hosting tribe members on visits to their ancestral homeland and helping to connect the past with the present.
Location: The trip will use the Rochester Hollow Trail located in the Shandaken Wild Forest about five minutes from the conference venue. Trailhead parking is limited and roundtrip carpooling from the venue will be provided. A box lunch is provided with registration.
Difficulty: The trail is relatively even surfaced with a few rocky areas. There is a gentle and gradual elevation gain along the trail. For questions about accessibility, contact info@cermconference.org.
Field Trip 2 – RECONSTRUCTING environmental HISTORIES
Friday, October 24, 11:00 AM – 4:30 PM
We will explore sites and methods for reconstructing ecosystem and climate histories of the Catskills. Topics range from lake coring techniques that sample sediment accretions to using fossils from bogs and fens to reconstruct environmental histories. Trip leaders will include faculty from Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.
Location: Location details are still in development, but anticipated to include stops at a lake and potentially first-growth forest and/or bogs and fens near the conference venue.
Additional details will be provided as trip plans are finalized.
