C A T S K I L L
PARK STATE LAND AND
FOREST PRESERVE MAP
Enlarged Version 525 X 397 (36Kb)

In 1885 a law was passed by the NY State Congress which established the Catskill and Adirondack Forest Preserve. From the beginning this land was protected by the State constitution as ‘Forever Wild’ land, never to be subjected to development or extraction of natural resources. In 1904 the Catskill Park was designated, which established a boundary, or ‘blue line’ around the Forest Preserve, and private land as well. Over the years the Forest Preserve and the Catskill Park grew, with the Catskill Park now comprising approximately 700,000 acres, about half of which is public Forest Preserve. The Catskill and Adirondack Parks are nationally unique because they are a checkerboard of public and private land; a grand experiment in how nature, even wilderness, and human society can coexist in a landscape.