Wild and Scenic Rivers
Lower Delaware Wild and Scenic
Wild and Scenic river program hopes to sway skeptics
Monday, November 17, 2008
By DOUGLAS B. BRILL
When the Upper Mount Bethel Township supervisors considered joining a Delaware River communities program in 2003, a standing-room-only crowd at Bangor Area's Slater Center was skeptical.
Some of the crowd worried an endorsement for the program would mean land seizures like those during the 1960s tied to plans for a dam and hydroelectric plant at Tocks Island.
"Don't trust the federal government," one opponent said then. "They turn like a snake."
Of 30 municipalities in the Lower Delaware River corridor, 24 had endorsed the program. But the township rejected it later that year.
Upper Mount Bethel changed course last week. Supervisors voted 3-2 to join the Delaware River Greenway Partnership, which runs the Wild and Scenic program for the National Park Service.
Gregg Rackin, who oversees the Greenway Partnership, now hopes to gain endorsements from White, Pohatcong and Durham townships, the three municipalities in the Lower Delaware corridor that have not joined the partnership.
Going with the flow
Lower Delaware municipalities that endorse the program become part of the Greenway Partnership, a think tank for river communities along the 77-mile stretch of river from the Delaware Water Gap to Washington Crossing.
The partnership provides modest funding -- 38 grants totaling $200,000 since its inception, according to Rackin. It awarded Portland $3,900 for a museum roof and $10,000 to Knowlton Township to restore the Ramsaysburg homestead.
The partnership looks for common solutions to river problems such as flooding. It also acts as liaison to state and federal agencies. Its advocacy efforts earlier this year helped gain the Lower Delaware River "special protection waters" designation from the Delaware River Basin Commission.
Most Greenway Partnership activity, however, has been south of Easton and Phillipsburg, where more communities have joined.
John Mauser, of the Martins-Jacoby Watershed Association, hopes to change that. He's working with Rackin to make a partnership among river communities in Northampton and Warren counties.
"If we can get White Township onboard and Pohat and maybe Durham," Mauser said, "we could double the (federal) funding."
The last three pieces
Upper Mount Bethel's endorsement was a key step. The township has 11 miles of riverbank, more than any other in the Lower Delaware corridor. Its cross-river counterpart, Knowlton Township, has also endorsed the Wild and Scenic program. Because of that, Mauser said, the stretch of river between the townships could gain higher priority for grants.
Pohatcong Township might consider an endorsement, said Anthony Vangeli, a committeeman. He felt the partnership could promote responsible development and help stem flooding.
"Many, many years ago we voted not to be a part of it," Vangeli said. "It might be time to rethink it."
Reporter Douglas B. Brill can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at dbrill@express-times.com.
____
Wild and Scenic
Monday, November 17, 2008
The National Wild and Scenic River System created by an act of Congress in 1968 calls for the preservation of select rivers with outstanding scenic, recreational, geologic, wildlife, historic, cultural or other important values in free-flowing condition.
-- Partnership Wild and Scenic Rivers is a subset of this national system. While most of the 160 rivers in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System flow through federal lands, Wild and Scenic Partnership Rivers flow through private lands and lands owned by state and local governments. The seven rivers designated as part of the partnership are located in the Northeast, including the Delaware.
Source: National Park Service
___