Learning from the comfort of home

By LINDA DROLLINGER
Posted 2/10/21

NARROWSBURG, NY — A long-time advocate and sponsor of local history, planning and environmental education, the Upper Delaware Council (UDC) announced at its February 4 meeting several upcoming …

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Learning from the comfort of home

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NARROWSBURG, NY — A long-time advocate and sponsor of local history, planning and environmental education, the Upper Delaware Council (UDC) announced at its February 4 meeting several upcoming opportunities for virtual instruction.

Kristen Bowman Kavanagh, deputy executive director of the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), announced that the DRBC’s Advisory Committee on Climate Change will host a forum titled “Climate Change in the Delaware River Basin” on Tuesday, March 2. The keynote speaker will be National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientist Benjamin Hamlington, PhD, who leads NASA’s Sea Level Change Science Team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA. Providing some home-grown perspective, Philadelphia meteorologist Glenn “Hurricane” Schwartz will discuss how climate change is impacting his ability to forecast local weather. Other speakers include climate experts from Rutgers University, the Water Center at Penn, Shippensburg University, Columbia University, United States Geological Survey, Pennsylvania Department of Education and DRBC. To register for this event, visit www.bit.ly/delawaresummit06.

The Ten Mile River Scout Museum will present a series of free live webinars on local history and ice fishing. Glenn Pontier, museum co-director, will present the first on February 18, a history of the Roebling Aqueduct and the Delaware and Hudson Canal that connected Honesdale, PA and Kingston, NY. (See more information on page 17.) On March 11, he will explore the only Revolutionary War battle fought in the Upper Delaware region: The Battle of Minisink. And on March 18, expert ice fisherman Carl Lindsley will share the benefit of his experience with those just learning the ropes of ice fishing, with “Ice Fishing in the Ten Mile River.” All webinars start at 7 p.m. and last about 60 minutes. Participants will have a chance to ask questions and chat with presenters. To register, visit www.tmrmuseum.org/webinars.

In honor of Black History Month, the UDC has posted to its Facebook page (www.facebook.com/UpperDelawareCouncil) a historical perspective on George Crowe, one of the first “Negro League” stars to become a Major League baseball player. First a baseman and pinch hitter, Crowe became something of an Upper Delaware celebrity when he retired to Long Eddy, NY, where his post-baseball years were spent fishing on the Delaware.

Adam Bosch of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, originally scheduled to speak on dam safety improvements at New York City reservoirs during the February 4 meeting of the UDC, has been rescheduled to present at the March 4 UDC meeting. No registration is required. A Zoom meeting link will be posted to the UDC website homepage (www.upperdelawarecouncil.org) as the date approaches.

In other business, UDC Resources and Land Use Specialist Shannon Cilento reported that the Geographic Information System (GIS) tool, in development for several years by Shippensburg University, is now 95 percent complete and will soon be available to local planning boards, zoning boards and code enforcement officers. 

The Upper Delaware Litter Sweep, originally planned to coincide with Earth Day 2020, will take place this April. Donations of time, service and money are sought from individuals and organizations interested in the cleanup of the river corridor. For more information on how to get involved, contact Ashley Hall-Bagdonas or Shannon Cilento at 845/252-3022.

Two bridge rehabilitation projects are in the works. Although in a worse state of deterioration than first thought, the Cochecton-Damascus Bridge will remain open during its entire rehab schedule, the timeframe for which is expected to remain unchanged. An advisory committee to review options for reopening of the Skinners Falls-Milanville Bridge, closed since fall 2019, is currently in formation, its members to be selected by invitation only. Invited to send one representative to the committee, the UDC jumped at the chance.

Delaware River Basin commission, upper Delaware, council

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