Details for Oct. 9 Memorial for Val Sigstedt:
Val Sigstedt, a valued member of the Lower Delaware Wild & Scenic Steering Committee, a staunch environmentalist, and accomplished artist, died in Feb. 2020 at age 92. His memorial was postponed due to Covid. Now rescheduled for Sat., Oct. 9 @ 2pm, Tohickon Valley Park Pavilion, Pt. Pleasant, PA, his friends are invited to celebrate his life and share stories in the Quaker tradition.
Due to river conditions and debris along the riverbanks, the 4th Annual NJ Clean Communities Delaware River Cleanup has been rescheduled for Saturday, October 16th, 2021! Scroll down for more info.
Save the Date: Next LDWS Council Meeting, Thursday, Dec. 16 at 10:00 AM.
The NPS Wild & Scenic Rivers Program 2021 Annual Newsletter is out!
Congratulations to the Lower Delaware Wild & Scenic grantees who will share $20,000 in funding: Learn about the 2020 mini-grant funded projects here. The 2022 program will open Dec. 2021 - Jan. 2022. The Annual NJ Clean Communities Delaware River Cleanup was one of only 8 projects around the country selected as a 2021 National Scenic Byway Community Award Winner. This year's cleanup will include many new areas along the river ranging from Holland Twp in Hunterdon County all the way to Duck Island at the Abbott Marshlands in Hamilton! The Council commissioned a river use capacity study in 2020. Risa Shimoda, consultant, presented these slides at the March 2021 meeting of the Council. Rockface To Radically Change, Plans Unveiled by NJDOT: The Lower Delaware recently submitted these comment letters: The National Park Service/Wild & Scenic Rivers Newsletter featured the Wild & Scenic Lower Delaware in the November issue. Care About PA's Tohickon Creek? Seventy-five years ago, the Delaware River was choked with sewage and industrial pollution. The Lower Delaware was designated in 2000 as a Wild and Scenic River Additionally some of the tributaries in the Lower Delaware were also designated including Tinicum Creek, (headwaters of two upper branches to the Delaware River confluence), Tohickon Creek, (downstream of Lake Nockamixon to the Delaware River confluence), and Paunacussing Creek, (portions passing through Solebury Township to the Delaware River). The Musconetcong River, (3.5 mile stretch from Saxton Falls to Route 46 and the 20.7 mile stretch from King’s Highway Bridget to railroad tunnels at Musconetcong Gorge), was designated in 2006. Read more about about the Lower Delaware's Wild and Scenic Designation..... Checkout water monitoring by the Lehigh River Stocking Association, dedicated to the continuous improvement of this waterway and its tributaries. Their objectives are to ensure clean water, public access, and an abundant trout fishery for everyone to enjoy. Educate yourself on what the Wild & Scenic Designation means and hear from leading experts in the region including Lower Delaware’s NPS Liaison, Sarah Bursky. Video courtesy of the Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed. (Runs 1.5 hours.)
Due to river conditions and debris along the riverbanks, the 4th Annual NJ Clean Communities Delaware River Cleanup has been rescheduled for Saturday, October 16th, 2021
Aesthetics are expected to change at Devil’s Tea Table in Hunterdon County, NJ as a result of NJDOT plans for rockfall mitigation to improve Rt. 29 roadway safety in Kingwood Twp.
Articles in the newsletter focused on:
We are tracking a potential Tohickon Creek water quality downgrade. Longtime Wild & Scenic Steering Committee Member Val Sigstedt writes, “It is wrong, arbitrary, sudden, and with no scientific reason, to lower the Tohickon’s purity designation.”
Thanks to a combination of federal and state safeguards and local innovation, the Delaware is a river reborn – and a model for other river restoration efforts across the country!
