Better protection needed for Lower Delaware River

RELEASE: Dec. 14, 2007 – Volume XXXIX, No. 50

The mighty Delaware River is unique among major waterways in the eastern United States for flowing freely, without dams and other manmade impediments. For 330 miles, its waters pass through more than 800 communities in four states, including New Jersey. Although the river serves as a boundary between states, it’s also a unifying thread to people in communities that share its banks.

The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) is currently considering “Special Protection Waters” (SPW) status for the Lower Delaware, the portion between the Delaware Water Gap and the head of tidal Delaware Bay near Trenton. The SPW designation would require projects in the watershed to meet strict pollution control standards, including non-point pollution control plans. It should be granted, because it is necessary to protect the exceptional water quality of Lower Delaware and its watershed.

Like most rivers, the Delaware has distinct sections. After flowing through the dramatically carved mountains of the Delaware Water Gap, the river becomes broader and slower-flowing in its lower section. Here, the Pocono and Catskill ranges give way to rolling hills and valleys that support a remarkable variety of plant and animal life that depends on the river and its tributaries.

Though much of the vast forest that once covered the Lower Delaware region has fallen to settlers’ saws and farmers’ plows, there are still thriving populations of deer, squirrels, raccoons, skunks, woodchucks, pheasants, rabbits, ducks, turkeys and songbirds, among many others. The river, or the ponds and tributaries that make up its watershed, are home to a number of important fish populations like trout, salmon, shad, walleye and eels.

The Lower Delaware is not only a good wildlife habitat, it’s also a great recreation site. The natural beauty of the landscape – rocky cliffs interspersed with grassy bluffs and the occasional sandy beach, rapids and islands – is enhanced by historic hamlets, mills and canals. It begs to be walked, canoed and photographed! It’s no wonder so many people are drawn to visit the Delaware’s watershed.

The region’s beauty is part of the reason development pressure has been building for decades. And as development occurs, there has been a corresponding increase in flooding and danger of pollution.

Recognizing the exceptional nature of the Lower Delaware, Congress designated it a “Wild and Scenic River” in 2000. While this recognition is deserved, by itself it’s not enough to protect the river from development and the associated pollution. So the Delaware Riverkeeper Network subsequently petitioned the Delaware River Basin Commission to grant the Lower Delaware SPW protections.

Although interim protection measures have been in place since 2005, final and full SPW designation has not yet been approved. The upper and middle portions of the Delaware River have already received SPW designations, to the positive reviews of local, state and federal governments and agencies, as well as environmental and recreational organizations. After five years, the treasure that is the Lower Delaware deserves the same support and protection!

For more information on how to assist this effort, please contact the Delaware Riverkeeper Network at 1-800-8-DELAWARE, or visit their website at www.delawareriverkeeper.org. And I hope you’ll contact me at info@njconservation.org, or visit NJCF’s website at www.njconservation.org, for more information about conserving New Jersey’s precious land and natural resources.

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