SULLIVAN COUNTY - New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is requesting public input for the development of a Unit Management Plan (UMP) for state forest lands in the Towns of Mamakating and Highland.

Information gathered during this process will be used by the DEC to develop a draft UMP for the area. The final UMP will guide the management of the Sullivan County State Forest for the next 10 years.

State forest lands are managed for multiple purposes involving the conservation and development of natural resources, including the preservation of scenic areas, watershed protection, forest management and recreation.

The Sullivan County State Forest consists of approximately 2,144 acres of public land dispersed among three separate parcels. The parcels include: the 1,037-acre Hickok Brook Multiple Use Area in the Town of Highland near Eldred; the 1,000-acre Wurtsboro Ridge State Forest in the Town of Mamakating just north of the Village of Wurtsboro; and the 107-acre Painter Hill Multiple Use Area also in the Town of Mamakating, just west of Spring Glen.

Individuals will have an additional opportunity for input when the Draft UMP is issued. The public can review and comment on the Draft UMP before it is finalized.

Written comments will be accepted until November 17, and can be mailed to Mike Pogue, NYS DEC, Region 3, 21 South Putt Corners Road, New Paltz, NY 12561 or e-mailed to mxpogue@gw.dec.state.ny.us. For further information call Mike Pogue at 845/256-3075.

LIBERTY - The Cornell Cooperative Extension of Orange County will sponsor a Drive-It-Yourself One-Day Dairy Farm Tour on Wednesday, November 8 beginning at 11:00 a.m. It is open to dairy farmers and field crop farmers from surrounding counties and will offer an informative hands-on presentation of new practices in farm technology, as well as new innovations in barn construction.

Three Orange County farms will be visited:

• Fordlane Farm in Westtown where a fabri-steel building serves as an example of how round hay bales can be stored, preserving both the hay quality and investment.

• Rudinski Dairy Farm in Pine Island, the first example in New York State of new construction over an existing barn allowing continuos operation and saving of space.

• Tunis Sweetman Dairy Farm, a SWCD Barnyard Project, and discussion of Conservation Plan as it pertains to this PDR Farm.

The cost of the tour is $12 which includes a buffet lunch stop along the tour at the CYO Building in Pine Island. Pre-registration is required by November 15. For more information call Dairy Science Educator Larry Hulle at 845/344-1234.

DELAWARE WATER GAP - The United States Orienteering Federation's nationally-sanctioned championships will be held this year at the Pocono Environmental Education Center (PEEL) within the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (NRA) on the first weekend in November. This major orienteering event is being sponsored by the Delaware Valley Orienteering Association (DVOA), a non-profit group founded in 1967 and the oldest and largest civilian orienteering club in the United States.

There will be a model event on Friday, November 3 and total time championship races on Saturday, November 4, and Sunday, November 5. The Sunday event has been sanctioned by the International Orienteering Federation as a world ranking event.

The Saturday event will take place between Study's Pond, about half way between Big Egypt and Briscoe Mountain Roads, and will end at PEEL. On Sunday, orienteers will start at PEEL and loop back to finish at the environmental center.

Courses will be offered based on age and technical ability. Pre-registration is required. Free instructions will be available for beginners on both Saturday and Sunday.

Further information on this event can be found at www.kentshaw.com/usoc2000.

MONTICELLO - The Sullivan County Legislature announces the opening of an exhibit focusing on the history and biodiversity of the Neversink Watershed that supplies New York City (NYC) with a pristine water source. The exhibit, opening at the Liberty Museum on Friday, November 3 at 3:00 p.m., will demonstrate the design, construction and workings of the engineering marvel that is the NYC Reservoir System.

This exhibit, which is meant to be a traveling educational display, will include historic photographs of the communities of Eureka, Montela, Lacawack, Neversink and Bittersweet that were taken in order to create the system.

HARRIS - The Community General Hospital (CGH) Healthy Hunters Screening Program will be held at the Mamakating Family Health Center on Route 209 in Wurtsboro on Tuesday, November 7 from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. This free, fast public service program offers hunters a chance to have their health, especially their heart health, checked before they venture into the woods.

CGH's Healthy Hunters Screening is open to licensed hunters only. Advance registration is required. For more information or to register call 845/888-2200.