Latest News

NARROWSBURG – The Upper Delaware Council, Inc. (UDC) extended its 2nd Annual River and Shoreline Clean-up Grants Program to include summer litter pick-ups at the Skinners Falls River Access and along the New York State Route 97 Hawk’s Nest.

The UDC donated $750 to partner with the Town of Deerpark, NY in a two-day initiative by Town Highway Department employees to collect and dispose of trash that had accumulated along the famous Orange County section of the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway to the border with the Town of Lumberland in Sullivan County.

Hawk’s Nest Drive is renowned for its serpentine curves and panoramic vistas of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River visible some 200 feet below several motorist pull-off areas.

The Town of Deerpark invested approximately $1,000 in the August 24-25 clean-up project.

UDC member Damascus Township, PA reached out to the Calkins Ag 4-H Club to do a specifically targeted clean-up at the Skinners Falls Access public gathering spot located across from Milanville, PA in the Town of Cochecton, NY on Sept. 4. The popular river access is co-managed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the National Park Service.

It was the Calkins Ag 4-H Club’s second such community service project outing under the UDC program after 27 members, parents, and leaders boarded canoes and kayaks to clean up a section of the river from Callicoon to Milanville on July 26.

Previous UDC reimbursement payments for clean-ups of the bi-state river and banks were granted by an August 21 deadline to: Lackawaxen Township, PA, $736; Town of Lumberland, NY, $775; Damascus Township, PA, $250; Town of Highland, NY, $661; and Town of Tusten, NY, $640.

“Our goal is to encourage local stewardship efforts to help maintain the pristine quality of the 73.4-miles of the Upper Delaware River from just below Hancock downstream to Mill Rift,” said UDC Executive Director Laurie Ramie.

The Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, a unit of the National Parks System since 1978, is jointly managed as a partnership of federal, state, and local governments and citizens through implementation of a River Management Plan.

The National Park Service estimates that 230,846 visitors came to the Upper Delaware in 2014 to enjoy its scenic beauty and recreational opportunities.

For more information about the UDC and its services, please call (845) 252-3022 or visit www.upperdelawarecouncil.org.