NYC DEP announces results from 2018 recreational boating season in the Catskills

KINGSTON – The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today announced that a total of 1,660 boats were used in 2018 through its recreational boating program in the Catskills, including 935 canoes and kayaks that were rented to visitors by local businesses. Rental boats made up the majority of boats used on the four reservoirs for the third consecutive year, underscoring the program’s support of local tourism and outdoor recreation businesses.
Overall participation in the recreational boating program remained steady in 2018, despite record rainfall that drenched the watershed for much of the summer and early fall. The 1,660 boats that were used throughout the season reflected a slight increase from the 1,646 boats that were used in 2017. Rentals continued to lead the way as 56 percent of all visitors chose to rent a boat from one of seven businesses in the Catskills that store pre-cleaned canoes and kayaks alongside the reservoirs. The rental program, administered in partnership with the Catskill Watershed Corporation (CWC), began in 2013 to provide easier boating access for visitors to the Catskills and for local residents who don’t own a boat. It has also helped support local businesses by providing a new source of revenue. The recreational boating program at Cannonsville, Neversink, Pepacton and Schoharie reservoirs complements the traditional use of metal rowboats for fishing, which has been permitted for decades on all New York City reservoirs.
“The recreational boating program continues to be one of the most popular outdoor experiences that DEP offers on its reservoirs and watershed lands,” DEP Commissioner Vincent Sapienza said. “We are happy to see that visitors are providing a boost to the local economy by renting boats from local vendors, and that interest in recreational boating remained strong during one of the wettest summers of the last century. We look forward to collaborating with our partners in the Catskills to reach a new record for boating in the watershed next season.”