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UDC to Host National Park Service Submerged Resources Center River Survey Program Dec. 5

NARROWSBURG — The Upper Delaware Council (UDC) will host a public presentation, “The National Park Service Submerged Resources Center and its Recent Survey along the Upper Delaware River” on Thursday, December 5, at 7 p.m. at the 211 Bridge St., Narrowsburg, NY office and virtually by Zoom.

Archeologists David W. Morgan and Matt Hanks will discuss findings from an underwater survey of 5.7 miles (299.7 acres) of the Delaware River in the vicinity of Lackawaxen, Ten Mile, Narrowsburg, Damascus, and Callicoon that was completed in September.

They used a pair of remote sensing technologies – sidescan sonar and magnetometry – to help document two features linked with the area’s transportation history in the 1800s: remnants of a dam and a bridge pier foundation.

They found another 19 sonar contacts of interest, along with 129 magnetic anomalies, that will require further investigation.

The National Park Service (NPS) owns or manages more than 3.5 million acres of underwater lands and the agency maintains a unique unit designed to help parks of all types manage their submerged resources and assets.

The Submerged Resources Center (SRC) consists of a seven-member team whose backgrounds and areas of expertise encompass archeology, photography, biology, maintenance, and dive operations.

They conduct projects year-round and around the country that help parks deal with submerged assets and resource management. Examples include infrastructure, such as dock maintenance; natural resource management, such as documenting the impacts of disease on coral reefs; public safety issues, such as search and recovery; and historic preservation, such as locating, documenting, and preserving archeological sites like shipwrecks.

The National Historic Preservation Act requires that national parks inventory historic properties within lands they own or manage so that these places can be taken into consideration during routine operations like construction.

For the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River survey, they were looking to create a Phase I baseline inventory and evaluation of potential archeological sites.

The UDC’s monthly business meeting to immediately follow the virtual presentation will include status reports from the Delaware River Basin Commission, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, National Park Service, and the UDC Executive Director; discussion of old and new business; and public comment.

All UDC meetings are open to the public. To request the Zoom link to participate remotely, contact UDC Administrative Support Stephanie Driscoll at (845) 252-3022 or stephanie@upperdelawarecouncil.org. Please check www.upperdelawarecouncil.org or UDC social media pages for any meeting updates.

(Pictured left: NPS Archeologist Matt Hanks; right: NPS Archeologist David W. Morgan)