UPPER DELAWARE REGION — The Upper Delaware Council (UDC) held its second annual Upper Delaware Litter Sweep the week of Earth Day, April 22 to 30. The litter sweep brought communities on both sides of the Delaware River together to clean up the environment.

That litter sweep was still ongoing when the UDC held its operations committee meeting on April 26. The council heard reports from those members who had attended litter sweeps.

UDC secretary Ashley Hall-Bagdonas reported that around 40 people attended a litter sweep in Livingston Manor and Roscoe, focusing on the Beaverkill and the Willowemoc River. That group collected over 500 pounds of trash.

Another large group conducted a cleanup in Highland and Lumberland, with UDC chairperson Andy Boyar reporting an attendance of around 70 people. “It was like a sea of yellow,” he said, referring to the reflective UDC shirts the volunteers were wearing.

Susan Sullivan, UDC representative from Tusten, reported that there had been two groups of cleanups in that town, with around 30 people gathering on April 23 and a smaller group gathering the following day. The groups filled an entire truck full of litter, said Sullivan, though an area of Rt. 52 still needed work.

Other UDC members reported cleanups in areas such as Deerpark and Westfall.

The Delaware Water Gap

The meeting touched as well on the issue of the Delaware Water Gap (DWG), a national recreation area in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

As covered previously by the River Reporter (see riverreporter.com/stories/filling-the-gap), organizations such as the PA and New Jersey Sierra Clubs are pushing to have the DWG upgraded from a national recreation area to a national park.

Supporters of the move say that the redesignation would remedy the current lack of a national park in the tri-state area as well as give the DWG more resources and federal funding. Detractors say that reclassifying the area would limit hunters’ access in an incredibly popular sporting destination.

The conversation at the UDC was sparked by a Pike County Dispatch article titled “UDC member Shohola pans national park idea.” While Shohola township did not claim to speak for the UDC in opposing the idea, and the text of the article did not claim it either, the UDC took the opportunity to discuss whether the body needed to take an official stance for or against the idea. Members quickly agreed that the UDC did not need to take a position: the council covers the Upper Delaware River, while the DWG exists along the Middle Delaware River. They agreed as well that the UDC needed to keep an eye on the proposal.