#2007-07: May 4, 2007 Tremper Mountain Fire Tower Seeks Chairperson and Volunteers Mount Tremper - Does the thought of spending a warm summer day or weekend on a grassy-oak summit with a 360-degree view for nearly 50 miles sound appealing to you? If it does, you may be interested in staffing the Tremper Mountain Fire Tower this summer. Nestled between ten of the Catskills’ highest peaks, the 47-foot high fire tower on Tremper Mountain (near Phoenicia) is in need of local citizens willing to volunteer their time to maintain and staff this historic structure. "What we need most is a chairperson for the Tremper committee that is dedicated to coordinating routine maintenance efforts and schedules of volunteer interpreters that wish to staff the tower on weekends between Memorial and Columbus Day," said Aaron Bennett of The Catskill Center for Conservation and Development and member of the former Tremper Mountain Fire Tower committee. Along with the NYSDEC, The Catskill Center assists with and helps to coordinate efforts of all of the volunteer committees at each tower. The fire tower on Tremper Mountain was re-opened to the public in 2001 as part of the Catskill Fire Tower Project, thanks in large part to the efforts of dedicated volunteers, and former chairperson Harry Jameson. Currently there is no established committee or volunteers. "Without a committee that can address any maintenance issues and establish a core of dedicated volunteers, the ‘cab’ that sits on the top of the tower will unfortunately remain closed when no volunteer is present," said Aaron. Anyone interested in becoming involved in re-establishing the Tremper Mountain Fire Tower Committee or serving as a volunteer interpreter this summer should contact Aaron Bennett at The Catskill Center at (845) 586-2611, or abennett@catskillcenter.org. To learn more about the Tremper Mountain Fire Tower or any of the others in the Catskill Park, visit www.catskillcenter.org/towers.