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2023 UDC Board: Gathered at the Feb. 2 Upper Delaware Council meeting were, seated from left, Vice-Chairperson Virginia Dudko, Chairperson Aaron I. Robinson, and Secretary-Treasurer Alan F. Henry. Standing from the left are Jeff Dexter, Roger Saumure, Lindsey Kurnath, Bill Dudko, Tim Dugan (partially hidden), Frank Guzman, Michael Barth, Larry Richardson, Harold Roeder, Jr., Doug Case, Jim Greier and Andy Boyar. Participating by Zoom were Ryan Coulter (State of New York), Kristin Bowman Kavanagh (Delaware River Basin Commission), Nadia Rajsz, and Fred Peckham, while Evan Padua, was absent.

NARROWSBURG – The Upper Delaware Council, Inc. (UDC) has confirmed its delegates for 2023 to oversee the non-profit organization’s coordination of the federal-state-local partnership dedicated to conserving the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River.

Council members with voting rights are the eight New York towns and five of the seven Pennsylvania townships that border on the Upper Delaware River, as well as the State of New York and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

The Delaware River Basin Commission participates as a non-voting member. The U.S. Department of the Interior/National Park Service is the UDC’s non-voting federal partner.

Elected by their peers on Jan. 5 and sworn in on Feb. 2 to serve as 2023 officers were Chairperson Aaron I. Robinson (Shohola Township); Vice-Chairperson Virginia Dudko (Town of Deerpark); and Secretary-Treasurer Alan F. Henry (Berlin Township).

Members appoint representatives and alternates to serve on the UDC board. Following municipal reorganizational meetings, the 2023 roster is currently:

Town of Hancock – Fred Peckham, representative; Timothy Newman, alternate;

Town of Fremont – Jim Greier, representative; Brian Brustman, alternate;

Town of Delaware – Harold G. Roeder, Jr., representative; alternate-vacant;

Town of Cochecton – Larry H. Richardson, representative; Sean Nearing, alternate;

Town of Tusten – Evan Padua, representative; Susan Sullivan, alternate;

Town of Highland – Andy Boyar, representative; alternate-vacant;

Town of Lumberland – Nadia Rajsz, representative; Frank Guzman, alternate;

Town of Deerpark – Virginia Dudko, representative; Bill Dudko, alternate;

Damascus Township – Jeff Dexter, representative; Steven Adams, Joseph Canfield, and Scott Rutledge, co-alternates;

Berlin Township – Al Henry, representative; Paul Henry, alternate;

Lackawaxen Township – Doug Case, representative; alternate-vacant;

Shohola Township – Aaron Robinson, representative; Roger Saumure, 1st alternate; and Patricia Jeffer, 2nd alternate;

Westfall Township – Michael Barth, representative; alternate-vacant;

State of New York – NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) permanent appointment pending;

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania – PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Delaware State Forest District Forester Timothy Dugan, representative; PA DCNR’s Bureau of Recreation and Conservation Regional Advisory Christine Dettore, alternate;

Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) – DRBC Executive Director Steven J. Tambini, representative; Deputy Executive Director Kristen Bowman Kavanagh, alternate; and

National Park Service (NPS) – NPS Northeast Regional Director Gay Vietzke, representative; NPS Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River Superintendent Lindsey Kurnath, alternate.

The UDC’s three full-time staff members are: Executive Director Laurie Ramie; Resource Specialist Kerry Engelhardt; and Secretary Ashley Hall-Bagdonas.

The UDC has operated since 1988 under a Cooperative Agreement partnership with the National Park Service to oversee the coordinated implementation of the River Management Plan for the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, which the U.S. Congress designated in 1978 as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

The river corridor extends 73.4 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the Delaware River below Hancock to Railroad Bridge No. 2 at Sparrowbush. It encompasses 55,574.5 acres that remain in majority private ownership within portions of Delaware, Sullivan, and Orange Counties in NY; and Wayne and Pike Counties in PA.

The full body of the Upper Delaware Council regularly meets every first Thursday of the month at 7 p.m.

Three standing committees meet as follows: Water Use/Resource Management Committee, third Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m.; Project Review Committee, fourth Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m.; and Operations Committee, fourth Tuesdays at approximately 7:30 p.m.

All meetings take place at the UDC’s office located at 211 Bridge St. in Narrowsburg, NY, and are open to the public.

For more information, please visit www.upperdelawarecouncil.org, call (845) 252-3022, or follow the Upper Delaware Council on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.