On May 3rd, 2018 over 160 people joined together to educate, learn, and celebrate the Brandywine-Christina Watershed at the Clean Water: A Bi-State Solution conference. The conference focused on the collaborative efforts made to improve the watershed health, ongoing projects being done, and a future focus on the next steps to ensure the health of the watershed.

Sandy beach sunsets, rolling tree-covered hills, serene fishing scenes, and tall stately bridges – these were some of the entries in the “Beauty” contest for the Delaware River Means campaign. While many entries came in, Karen Harmon’s photo of the Delaware River at the Frenchtown-Uhlerstown Bridge won by a landslide with 533 votes. “I’m very excited, I’ve never won a contest before – or entered one,” Karen laughed. Karen lives in Frenchtown, New Jersey, just a short walk from the Delaware River and the Frenchtown-Uhlerstown Bridge. As Karen describes, the photo was taken during a perfect, snowy, and quiet evening, with no one else around – just her and the Delaware.

On March 23rd, the Delaware River Basin Restoration Program (DRBRP) received $5 million in funding as part of the Fiscal Year 2018 Omnibus spending bill approved by Congress and signed by the President. The Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed worked with Congress on the authorization of the Delaware River Basin Conservation Act which was first introduced in 2010. The Conservation Act was authorized in December 2016 and created the DRBRP. Now money will finally begin flowing to local conservation projects throughout the region.

Representative John Faso (NY-19) introduced a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives on March 21, 2018 that recognizes and celebrates the natural resource value and growing economic importance of the Upper Delaware River. The resolution highlights how the Upper Delaware River is anchoring a robust regional tourism economy in Delaware and Sullivan counties (NY) and how critically important that is to the people, communities, and businesses who rely on the river for their livelihood.

Rancocas Pathways is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that manages the Rancocas Creek National Water Trail Initiative and organizes community events like Adopt-a-Creek clean-ups and the “Education is Fun, Naturally” program in the Rancocas Creek watershed. Rancocas Creek is a tributary of the Delaware River in southwestern New Jersey that totals 360-square miles and begins in the Pinelands town of Browns Mills. Rancocas Creek’s main stem is 8.3 miles long, with a North Branch of 28.3 miles beginning in Mill Dam Park, and a South Branch flowing 21.7 miles beginning in Vincentown, before combining at the Bluewater Trail in Rancocas State Park.

Earlier this week President Trump released his proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2019, failing to include needed funding for important conservation and stewardship programs that provide direct benefits to the Delaware River Watershed’s ecological health and the 15 million people that rely on the watershed for drinking water.

Sometimes, I get lucky and get to take a photograph from a small plane.  In this case, from 7000 feet above Philadelphia. Nestled between the main stem of the Delaware River and the Schuylkill River, it truly highlights the important role water plays in daily life. When Lighthawk soars above these areas, the perspective comes into sharp focus and it is easy to see how the watershed bends and curves around us.

With the Delaware River Watershed spanning four states and hundreds of miles, it can be challenging for all the organizations working in the watershed to come together in the same room to create a plan of action for the mighty Delaware. That is, in part, why the Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed (CDRW) brings member organizations together for the Annual Member Meeting at the start of each new year. The Annual Member Meeting is also an opportunity for our member organizations to vote on policy priorities that will guide our work in 2018.