Diane Valden reports in the Columbia Paper that authorities in Massachusetts and New York are doing everything they can to keep folks out of the water at Bash Bish Falls. The highest waterfall in Massachusetts, where the Bash Bish Brook “drops about 80 feet into an emerald plunge pool” has now been barricaded by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. “Bash Bish Falls has a new policy this year where no one is allowed down on the stairs [to the falls] or on the water’s edge," says the message on the phone if one calls the Mount Washington State Forest, the park that includes the falls. Last year, thousands of revelers had parties, played in the water, and left behind much trash at the falls. Last year law enforcement officials on both sides of the state line closed down roads leading to the falls and turned people away when parking areas were full. Taconic State Park Manager Christopher Rickard says they are trying to keep the falls and surrounding area strictly a place for hiking—no swimming, no chairs, no cooking, no picnicking. Bash Bish Falls and Bash Bish Brook are nature preserves and the brook is a protected trout stream, so officials are trying to protect the natural environment. "Stay on the trails, don’t go in the stream, don’t bring chairs or coolers," Rickard says. “People who break the rules will be asked to leave.” Read more about this story in the Columbia Paper.