The 44-mile-long Beaverkill River is a quiet Catskills fishing stream and tributary of the East Branch of the Delaware River. From its place atop the Delaware watershed, water quality in the Beaverkill River has broad implications for downstream communities.
To curb fragmentation of this pristine and extremely biodiverse landscape, we launched a bold goal of protecting the Beaverkill Valley.
Protecting our water
Beginning with the purchase of former Boy Scout camps 40 years ago, we:
- acquired more than 18,500 acres of scenic forest in the Beaverkill Valley—a place where OSI has been preserving open space for the last 40 years.
- protected more than eight miles of the Beaverkill River.
- preserved more than 11,000 acres in the Beaverkill by acquiring conservation easements
In 2002, we created the Catskills Organizing Committee (COC). This group is studying four river systems known collectively as the Beaverkill- Willowemoc Watershed, or BE-MOC which includes:
- the Upper Beaverkill
- the Willowemoc
- the Little Beaverkill and
- the Lower Beaverkill.
Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data, we are working to identify properties in need of natural resource protection and/or restoration.
Over the decades, our goals in the Beaverkill have always been guided by our main objectives: to protect the region’s stream corridors and scenic views, to maintain and restore critical fish habitat, and to preserve the area’s rural character.