NARROWSBURG, NY — The more things change, the more they remain the same. When the Upper Delaware Council reorganized last February, it was facing closure because of the loss of federal funding. This year, a second shutdown of the federal government in three days is looming. 

Despite the scenario, the UDC reorganized on February 7 as Town of Delaware Deputy Supervisor Alfred Steppich administered oaths of office to incoming chairman, Delaware Representative Harold G. Roeder Jr., and renewed the oath of incumbent Secretary-Treasurer Alan Henry of Berlin Township. Jeffrey Dexter of Damascus Township, the vice-chair-elect, was unable to attend.

UDC expended $20,000 of unencumbered funds to pay its bill over the month-long shutdown, leaving that fund with a $126,000 balance.

Heister said she was “happy, very happy to be back,” and said her top priority was getting all her staff paid by February 11.

Lanternfly Warning 

Heather Leach, of the Spotted Lanternfly (SLF) Extension Association at Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, gave a comprehensive and frightening update on efforts to suppress the invasive pest in southeastern PA, where it has taken hold.

Her video segments showed crawling masses of the SLF on tree trunks, houses, exteriors and interiors of chimneys. They do not sting, bite, or defoliate, but suck sap and weaken a wide variety of fruit and hardwood species. She advised inspecting all these species to find and destroy egg masses, which appear like mud splatters on trees and other structures. SLF can also spread on any vehicles traveling through infested areas.

Thirteen Pennsylvania counties, from Philadelphia north and west to Monroe County, are under a quarantine for SLF, as well as several New Jersey counties bordering the Delaware River. Leach said state and federal efforts to suppress SLF, including sticky banding blocks for trees, have been partially successful, but the pest’s spread is predicted to continue.

For more information or to report sightings of SLF, call PSU at 1-888-4BADFLY or visit extension.psu.edu/spottedlanternfly. In New York, get information at www.dec.ny.gov/docs/lands_forests_pdf/slffs.pdf or email sighting information at spottedlanternfly@dec.ny.gov .
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In other UDC business, the council discussed ongoing efforts to get NY and PA officials to pay their contracted $100,000 annual portions of the UDC budget, which it has never done in the past; it also discussed extensive concerns about compatibility issues in the latest version of the Town of Highland’s draft zoning ordinance.