Resource management to rural residential: Tools to monitor parcelization in the Catskill Region of New York State

Parcelization is an increasing concern to land managers in the rural regions of the United States. In order to protect vital ecosystem goods and services, resource managers need to account for decreasing parcel sizes. The Catskill region of New York State contains both the New York City Watershed and the Catskill Preserve. In order to maintain ecosystem functions within these sensitive areas, wise planning is needed in the development of rural lands. This study documents the change in private, rural parcel dynamics from 2004 to 2010 in the Catskill region at the township scale. A parcel density map was developed to observe trends in distribution of small parcels. The average parcel size dropped from 13.9 acres in 2004 to 13.1 acres in 2010. The distribution of small private, rural parcels is diffuse across the study region, implying the transition from resource management focused land holdings to rural residential within the Catskill region.