Friends of Callicoon Mountain

"Visioning The Ridge. Save The Ridge.*"

We, the Friends of Callicoon Mountain, are a group of residents of Callicoon, New York, troubled by the destruction of one of our town's most beautiful vistas through the recent clear-cutting of the mountain overlooking Main Street. The photos below suggest the magnitude of the destruction which has taken place. The ravaged mountain overlooks the valley of the Upper Delaware River, the longest free-flowing river in the Northeast and a federally designated Scenic and Recreational River, part of the National Park Service.

View of village of Callicoon and Delaware River		Detail of clear-cutting and adjacent mountain

The most prominent view from Callicoon is now no longer a forested ridge, but stumps, tree trunks, and a scarred mountainside. The Town of Delaware, within which the mountain lies, has enacted laws to protect against the kind of destruction. The Friends of Callicoon Mountain wish to work with the governing bodies of the Town of Delaware in their efforts to restore the mountain landscape quickly and completely and take all possible steps to prevent a recurrence of this tragedy.

In the long run, at stake is not just one ridge in Callicoon. The Upper Delaware River Valley is experiencing great development pressure. The Valley's natural beauty must not be sacrificed on the altar of short-term profits for a few developers, at the expense of preservation of the area for all its residents now and for generations to come. The Delaware is the last open river in the Northeast and it must be protected from unrestrained development and its associated damage to the quality of life in the Delaware Valley. The Friends of Callicoon Mountain wishes to work with other groups along the Upper Delaware River to encourage development that would preserve the natural beauty of the Upper Delaware Valley.

Here is a complete statement of purpose.

You are invited to add your name to this petition being prepared for the Planning Board of the Town of Delaware. To do so, please contact one of the people indicated below.

For further information, contact ... or Marten denBoer at mdenboer@hunter.cuny.edu.