Paul Misko has been hiking in the Catskills since childhood. Over the years he has learned much about the Catskill forest, and the human history within it. Though his main focus is Woodland Valley, near Phoenicia, he has done research throughout the whole Catskill region. In 2009 he founded the Catskill 4000 Club, a small  hiking group which focuses on history themed hikes and events. He has written articles for Kaatskill Life, and the Catskill Mountain Region Guide. He regularly gives talks on Catskill history, American history, and John Burroughs. He shares his research both in person, and on WIOX radio's "From the Forest", and conducts Catskill trivia quiz shows as well. 

His multi-media presentation will be; "The Catskill Tanneries: An Environmental Disaster with a Happy Ending."  Almost every valley in the Catskills was home to a Tannery, an industry which demanded huge supplies of Hemlock bark. This led to the near clear-cutting of most of our mountainsides. Was this a bad thing? Come and hear about the tanneries, how they operated, the men that worked them, and how it all affected the Catskill forests.