Committed to Stewardship
Frost Valley YMCA is distinguished by our commitment to promote a better understanding of the environment. Our location at the headwaters of the Neversink River means our actions affect more than 9 million people. This clean source of drinking water is part of the New York City watershed, which is completely unfiltered. Our location is strategically important for researching, demonstrating, and teaching the importance of environmental science and stewardship.
Frost Valley is committed to furthering the understanding of our environment through research. We operate two long-term monitoring stations that track pollutants in precipitation, a rain gage, and weather station. In addition Frost Valley collaborates with research agencies and educational institutions to further environmental science research. Research at Frost Valley has provided knowledge and understanding of environmental processes within the ecosystem. Continuing this research and collaboration allows Frost Valley to further knowledge for science based decision making and practice environmental stewardship.
Research Partners
Frost Valley believes that Environmental Stewardship requires an investment into scientific research. For over 30 years research has been conducted through a collaborative effort to better understand the Catskill ecosystem. This effort includes federal, state, university and regional non-profit partners.
Biscuit Brook and Neversink River Research Watershed
Since 1983 the U.S. Geological Survey and Frost Valley have been partners on research and education. The Biscuit Brook watershed is home to numerous scientific studies and long term research. Biscuit Brook is home to a USGS Gaging Station as well at the NADP stations operated by Frost Valley Staff.
The Biscuit Brook Watershed monitors the following:
- Precipitation and Deposition: Wet and Dry Deposition
- Soils: Chemistry and Toxicity
- Water: Organic contaminants, inorganic chemistry, trace metals, aquatic biota, and discharge
Stream data for Frost Valley’s Biscuit Brook is available from the USGS website. For more information regarding Biscuit Brook and the Neversink, see the U.S. Geological Survey link below.
Luke Roehm Technology Center at Frost Valley
The Frost Valley Environmental Science Department is housed in the Luke Roehm Technology Center in the solar-powered Quirk Lodge. The staff oversees all scientific research conducted on Frost Valley property and serve as liaison to scientists and assists in data collection. Data is archived in the Roehm Center’s computer lab; selected data are stored on this web-site under the Environmental Monitoring tab.
Frost Valley operates three National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) Stations. Frost Valley staff collect and process weekly water samples for the NADP: National Trends Network (NTN), Mercury Deposition (MDN) Stations, and Ammonia Monitoring Network (AMoN). The NTN is the largest North American network that provides a long-term record of precipitation chemistry. Each site has a rain gage and a precipitation collector. The samples are tested for pH, specific conductance, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, sulfate, nitrate, chloride, and ammonium ions. The MDN station is tested for total mercury in precipitation. It is the only network providing a long-term record for the concentration of mercury (Hg) in precipitation in North America. Frost Valley also operates a station for the US EPA’s Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNET)
Frost Valley YMCA Research Partners
CARY Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Central Connecticut State University
National Audubon Society
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation/Biodiversity Research Institute
Rondout-Neversink Stream Management Program
Stroud Water Research Center
SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry
SUNY Plattsburgh
Syracuse University
Watershed Agricultural Council
Environmental Monitoring
Environmental Science Department staff collects data from several environmental monitoring stations.
Thomas Dining Hall Weather Station
Location: Dining Hall
Data Collected: air temp., wind speed, wind direction, precipitation
Type of Instrument: Davis Instruments Weather Wizard III and rain gage
Link to Data: Frost Valley YMCA Weather Station
USGS Biscuit Brook Gage Station
Location: Biscuit Brook
Data Collected: flow (ft 3 /s), stage (ft)
Type of Instrument: Campbell Scientific CR10X datalogger with pressure transducer
Link to Data
National Atmospheric Deposition Program, National Trends Network
(Site: Biscuit Brook-NY68)
Location: Sequoia Loop
Data Collected: daily, monthly, and yearly precipitation and Total precipitation and chemistry
Type of Instruments: Pluvio E-gage, Belfort Raingage, Aerochem Metrics precipitation collector
Link to Data
National Atmospheric Deposition Program, Mercury Deposition Program
(Site: Biscuit Brook-NY68)
Location: Sequoia Loop
Data Collected: daily, monthly, and yearly precipitation, mercury chemistry
Link to Data
Permanent Forest Inventory Plots
Location: Model Forest
Data Collected: tree species, basal area, trees per acre, regeneration, understory, and more
