The Lower Delaware River Management Plan

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The Lower Delaware River Management Plan
Jessica Ablamsky Molly Ellwood
Tabitha Hobbs Elizabeth Hosman
Jenna Testone
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• Introduction
• Background
• Project area and brief summary of the plan.
• Critique of management plan through goals and
  implementation.
• Current status

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• Project Area

• Last major free-flowing river in the East
• Runs through New Jersey and Pennsylvania
• Contains unique habitat for region
• Supports rare, threatened, and endangered species
• Growing recreational use
• Significant historical resources

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• Project Area continued
• Important commercially, recreationally, and
  ecologically
• Supports one of the countrys largest
  concentrations of population and industry
• Largest freshwater port in the world
• Vigorous shipping facilities

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• Background of the Plan
• Concern for river prompted the Lower Delaware
  National Wild and Scenic River Study.
• Designation under the Wild and Scenic River
  program protects a river from water resource
  projects
• North and South of the project were already
  designated under the Wild and Scenic River
  program
• The management plan was formed to improve the
  lower Delaware river, tributaries, and resources
  as well as obtain designation as a Wild and
  Scenic River.

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Ecosystem Management Manage the lower Delaware
River into the future by monitoring conditions of
the river and its surrounding area across the
state and town boundaries, through best
management practices and the use of a management
committee and citizen advisory committee.
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• Ecosystem Criteria
• (based on Grumbine and Vogt et al. with
  consideration of the project area)
• Anthropocentric Aspects
• Social, economic, and political
• Ecological Aspects
• Boundaries
• Ecological integrity
• Future Improvement of the Plan

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• Goals of the Plan
• Water Quality
• Natural Resources
• Historic Resources
• Recreation
• Economic Development
• Open Space Preservation

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• Anthropocentric Aspects
• Cooperation amongst stakeholders.
• Interagency cooperation.
• PA DEP, NJ DEP and the DE River Basin commission
  need to collectively develop a corridor water
  quality management plan.
• Under the economic development section it is
  stated, the need to organize a corridor-wide
  chamber of commerce.
• Highway and transportation departments should
  work together to improve roads in the river
  corridor.

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• Interagency cooperation
• Government entities at all levels and both sides
  of the river, should develop compatible rules
  governing recreational use of the river
  corridor.
• Provide a police force with interagency
  cooperation.

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• Anthropocentric Aspects continued
• Low impact recreational opportunities.
• The 4th goal of the plan understands the need for
  there to be recreational opportunities as a way
  to increase the social values and public
  awareness of the area.

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• Anthropocentric Aspects continued
• Education and public awareness
• Things people should be aware of concerning the
  river . . .
• Best management practices.
• Not only thorough recreation, but through
  educating communities as to specific guidelines
  for development, as well as professionals and
  private landowners to best management practices.

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• Anthropocentric Aspects continued
• Economic feasibility
• Increase recreation as well as awareness in the
  river corridor including the promotion of
  tourism.
• This takes into account the many scenic
  (ecological) benefits of the area.
• Economic Development Coordinating Committee.

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• Ecological Aspects
• Boundaries
• Delaware River Watershed boundary
• State, county and town boundaries.

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• Ecological Aspects continued
• Ecological Integrity
• Water quality
• Goal 1, which focuses on the water quality of the
  river
• Watershed management plans for all of the
  tributaries

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• Ecological Aspects continued
• Water quality
• The Natural Resources section (Goal 2), states
  the need for sensitive land management which is
  defined as maintaining or reestablishing
  vegetative buffers along the river and
  tributaries..

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• Ecological Aspects continued
• Biodiversity
• Permanent protection of significant undeveloped
  unprotected land within the corridor, where
  cliff areas that contain rare plant species are
  also of priority

• Habitat
• Permanent preservation of open space through tax
  breaks for land such as farmland and areas with
  significant resource value
• Natural disturbance regimes.

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• Future Improvement of the Plan
• Data collection and monitoring.
• Extensive monitoring of water quality as a form
  of monitoring the land use practices within the
  corridor as well as making sure that there have
  been no significant impacts along the corridor
• Adaptive management.
• Best management practices for all aspects of the
  plan.
• A River Management Committee that meets regularly
  to revise the plan.

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• Current Status
• All segments of the river and tributaries with
  municipal support were designated under the Wild
  and Scenic Rivers Act in November of 2000.
• A River Management Committee has been formed and
  meets quarterly.
• The only update to the plan has been a cell phone
  tower policy.