UPPER DELAWARE RIVER — The Upper Delaware Council (UDC), the partnership of local, state and federal government responsible for managing and preserving the Upper Delaware River, still faces …
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UPPER DELAWARE RIVER — The Upper Delaware Council (UDC), the partnership of local, state and federal government responsible for managing and preserving the Upper Delaware River, still faces decades-old funding shortfalls in the new year.
While the UDC elected a new chair of the council for 2025, it faces an old problem; how to adequately fund its operations.
The UDC, when founded in 1988, was pledged funding from three sources: $300,000 annually from the federal government, and $100,000 annually from both New York and Pennsylvania. The states never met their obligations, and the federal government has not ever increased its allotment.
Shohola Township representative Aaron Robinson urged the council to redouble its efforts to find sustainable funding coming into the new year, saying he couldn’t imagine another contract that operated in the present day on 1980s dollars.
In the past, the council has leaned on its federal and state representatives to advocate for its funding struggles in the halls of power, to minimal effect. The group is prohibited from lobbying itself.
National Park Service (NPS) Superintendent Lindsey Kurnath said that, while it might be an “unpopular opinion,” she thought it might be a “better use of the group’s time” to think about how to do more with less. She mentioned an upcoming roundtable on strategies for managing rivers with fewer resources as a potential source of new ideas.
“The competition is stiff for funds; there aren’t federal funds available,” Kurnath said.
The opinion was unpopular among council members.
“We’re functioning in 2024, now 2025, on 1988 dollars,” said Robinson. “It’s irrational, Lindsey. You couldn’t do it; I couldn’t do it; nobody here does it.”
James “Jim” Rodgers, Town of Fremont representative, was elected to be the council’s 2025 chairperson.
Rodgers previously served as an alternate representative from 2004 to 2013, and rejoined the board in 2024. He worked for the Delaware Valley Job Corps Center in Callicoon starting when it first opened in 1979; is a member of the Adirondack Mountain Club Mid-Hudson Chapter and the Natural Resources Defense Chapter, as well as other conservation groups; and is a water safety and first aid/CPR instructor with the American Red Cross.
“I look forward to continuing our efforts to protect and enhance the free-flowing character, exceptional water quality, and the scenic, recreational and cultural values of the Upper Delaware River Corridor,” Rodgers said. “I don’t care where I’m going up and down the river, I never cease to at least take a moment to enjoy it, whether it’s just the scenery, the red-tailed hawks or eagle [or] the wildlife.”
The UDC elected Town of Tusten representative Evan Padua as its vice-chair and Berlin Township representative Alan Henry as secretary-treasurer.
Padua has operated Sweetwater Guide Service with his father since 2015 and has served as a UDC alternate member since 2018, moving up to the full position in 2023.
This will be Henry’s 12th stint as secretary-treasurer. He was employed by the NPS for 32 years, 29 of which were spent with the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River. He retired in 2009 as chief ranger.
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