NARROWSBURG, NY — Earlier this year, members of the Upper Delaware Council (UDC) debated the value of the council’s work, particularly in its changed relationship with the National Park Service (NPS). Discussions led to the UDC commissioning a study by the NPS on some of the issues raised. That report was released at the UDC’s September 6 meeting.

As part of the study, the NPS distributed a survey to member towns regarding the apparent withdrawal of federal funding to support local law enforcement along the river, which had been a major carrot in enrolling uncertain towns and townships 30 years ago. Funding still remains, but eligibility, accounting and dispersal means have changed radically over the years. NPS requirements grew while available NPS funding shrank.

As of this year, only the Town of Deerpark was able to meet NPS criteria for law enforcement funding and received $3,221, according to highlights of an NPS report distributed at the September 6 meeting of the UDC. That compares to $3,124,144 that NPS provided to local law enforcement in 31 of the past 37 years.

The study led the UDC to distribute a law enforcement survey among the participating towns. Five towns—Lumberland, Shohola, Deerpark, Hancock and Highland—had replied by September 6. Responses were as varied as the communities.

There were five questions; summarized, they were: Do you have local police? Would you like NPS funding? Could you pay the going $36.78/hour wage? What river-related law enforcement needs do you have? What recommendations do you have for the program?

• Four of the five have local law enforcement, and the Town of Hancock is served by the village police.

• All expressed interest in NPS funding.

• None but Deerpark, which is currently an NPS contractor, were positive about the wage rate. Lumberland said NPS disbursement standards are “too onerous” and the federal classification system does not include constables. Shohola has a police contract and would need to evaluate a significantly different rate. Highland and Hancock simply said “No.”

• Lumberland and Hancock listed no needs. Deerpark is concerned about adequate patrol shifts for the Hawks Nest area. Shohola spoke of calculating patrol costs by combining hours, miles and operational costs. Highland listed patrol-vehicle purchases (which at one time were subsidized by NPS), communications, speed-enforcement equipment, vests and uniforms.

• Highland recommended joint workshops with other river agencies to share thoughts. Shohola wants NPS money to cover emergency medical services. Noting federal funding issues, Lumberland said their river patrol presence was unchanged regardless of NPS funding, Deerpark and Hancock had no recommendations.

The NPS report said in summary that “as budgets tighten, staffing changes and visitor use evolves, this program will continue to be evaluated to ensure that law-enforcement focus on river recreationists in the corridor is paramount….” Tightening requirements for local law enforcement, “in particular the change in the type of visitor contacts being made since 2012, from primarily law-enforcement contacts to contacts for the purpose of providing information and safety, suggests there are opportunities to think about how NPS funding could be used differently yet serve the same purpose. We look forward to working with local towns/townships and the UDC to establish the best path forward to address the needs of the future.”

In other business the council renewed its discussion about a Barryville garage adjoining the river for which UDC has, since May, been unable to access information needed to make its required review. They decided to solicit the Town of Highland once again, and should they fail to get a response, to file a formal zoning complaint.

They also heard Lumberland’s Nadia Rajsz report that efforts to establish a permanent emergency river access under the new Pond Eddy bridge do not appear to be headed for “a positive end-result,” as the contractor plans to remove all of the stone now in use there. They discussed the August train derailment and fuel spill in Deposit and agreed that the full council should act as a committee to “analyze and make recommendations on river management plan concerns.”