UDC: at the hub

Funding unchanged 20 years after founding

By SANDY LONG

UPPER DELAWARE RIVER REGION — At the center of a wheel is its hub, a place where an important but little noticed function takes place. There, the many spokes come together, rotating around a point that can appear to be nearly motionless, but is, in fact, influencing a broader radius of points.

Much like that hub is the Upper Delaware Council (UDC), a non-profit organization formed in 1988, which is striving to continue its many functions on a budget that hasn’t changed since its inception 20 years ago. And while some would like to see the UDC take stronger stances on certain issues, the organization views its role differently.

Following the 1978 legislation designating the Upper Delaware River as a component of the National Wild and Scenic River System, the stage was set for the evolvement of the UDC. The organization was formed as a component of the River Management Plan (RMP) and today continues to operate under a cooperative agreement with the National Park Service (NPS), through which it receives federal funding.

A period of intense regional unrest in response to federal overtures in the 1960s to stake a presence in the Upper Delaware region prevailed. Multiple activist groups formed in the 1970s and ‘80s to protect local interests against the threat of a federal takeover.

In 1981, the Conference of Upper Delaware Townships (COUP) formed to provide a forum for local response to this planning effort. This group later evolved into the UDC, which is comprised of representatives from eight New York towns and five Pennsylvania townships bordering the Upper Delaware River, as well as the State of New York and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) is a non-voting member. The NPS Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River is a partner.

As such, the UDC must balance many perspectives and competing interests. “Members of the council each have allegiance to their home base, their supervisors, the people of their township,” said George J. Fluhr, the Shohola Township, PA representative currently acting as 2009 chairperson of the UDC. Fluhr has a long history with the organization, serving as an alternate or representative since its inception. He previously chaired the UDC in 1992 after two terms as vice-chairperson in 1991 and 1997.

“Members often vote not on behalf of themselves as individuals, but on what their town or township would recommend,” said public relations/fundraising specialist Laurie Ramie.

By design, the RMP calls for local governments to play an important role in management of the river corridor. Approximately 95 percent of the land in the Upper Delaware is privately owned. The UDC was created as an alternative to federal management of the river corridor.

What they do

The UDC has been involved in eagle habitat protection, drought planning, forestry and mining concerns, Delaware and Hudson Canal preservation, electric transmission lines, historic preservation, landfills, planning and zoning reviews, multiple bridge-related topics, river access, river cleanups, river flows, recreation issues and more.

Today, the UDC is engaged in a wide range of activities like testifying against proposed projects that would have negative impacts with respect to the RMP, producing visitor information maps and guides, co-sponsoring workshops, conducting an annual awards ceremony and raft trip as well as providing public information in the form of press releases, newsletters, brochures and email lists.

Two of the organization’s objectives for 2009 include advocating for a better balance of river flows and releases and the drafting of a position paper on natural gas development in the river valley.

The UDC also administers a Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) program that provides financial support to member towns and townships for programs related to planning, preparation or printing of zoning ordinances, laws and other regulations. Since 1988, the UDC has awarded $639,692 in funding for 180 projects.

The organization also helps administer $75,000 in the Community Projects State Grant funding program that Senator John J. Bonacic secured for the UDC’s eight New York State member towns.

All of it is accomplished with only four staff members whose long tenure speaks to their commitment to this work: executive director William Douglass (20 years), senior resource specialist David Soete (19 years), Ramie (12 years) and office manager Carol Coney (17 years).

With four UDC monthly meetings, plus others totaling up to 15 per month, the staff is spread thin. To remain viable, the UDC needs its operating budget increased, as well as funding to undertake a formal review of the River Management Plan and its Land and Water Use Guidelines, which haven’t been updated since being written in 1988, at which point some potential impacts didn’t even exist.

Various NPS superintendents have asked for funding increases over the years, but when weighed against other requests across the nation, the increases have fallen off the priority list. And although it was written into the RMP proposal that each of the two states would contribute $100,000 to the UDC budget for a total of $500,000, neither state ever confirmed participation and the contribution remains essentially a guideline.

As a result, TAGs have been shrinking and will likely continue to do so. “There are costs that you can’t cut, so cuts have had to occur in areas like the TAG grants,” said Fluhr. “We don’t have very much funding to give away next year.”

“We’ve been able to keep going forward, but it’s getting harder all the time,” said Douglass.

On natural gas drilling

One of the most challenging issues facing the UDC is natural gas drilling. “It’s a dilemma for the council, because we have to balance the need for people’s private property rights with the protection of the environment,” said Ramie. “When it was written, the RMP was not able to foresee these new drilling technologies, for example.”

“This points up one of the real values of the UDC,” said Fluhr. “Municipalities and state officials and the DRBC meet here on a regular basis to talk about these problems. There are different opinions, but we’re finding out who is doing what about gas drilling, and getting information out.”

Fluhr says there is a greater sense of cooperation now, and more sharing of information. “We’ve got a 20-year track record to prove that we’re here to be helpful and to coordinate these efforts. We don’t have regulatory powers, but we do carry a lot of influence.”

“We’ve been really fortunate that the state reps are willing to work with us and that we’ve got very dedicated representatives on this council,” said Coney.

“We keep them informed of everything that goes on.” Soete disseminates information on natural gas drilling, river flooding, alternative and conventional energy, endangered and invasive species, global warming and growth issues.

Strength in unity

The UDC prides itself on establishing a good rapport with the public officials and agency representatives it works with. “We bring people to the table and we settle issues,” said Coney. Project review is another important activity performed by the UDC. “We look out for what projects are being proposed for the river corridor and address each based on the guidelines of the RMP,” said Soete.

“The UDC’s most important role is providing a forum for all parties to meet and discuss river corridor-related issues. Our greatest strength is in our collective actions,” Douglass added.

Much of their work goes on behind the scenes, not at the forefront of an issue. “The average person doesn’t realize what authority we have and how it’s used,” said Fluhr. “For example, we can’t declare a moratorium on gas drilling, although we’ve been asked to.”

“We do have the authority to make recommendations based on the RMP,” said Coney.

“We’re both a partner and a watchdog, which is an interesting relationship,” added Ramie.

Being in the middle, or at the hub, limits one’s abilities to take more extreme positions. “We do take criticism from various groups. But we have to take that middle position. We can’t be the extreme preservationist; we can’t be pro- or anti-development,” said Soete.

“By being in the middle, we’re helping other people to be in the middle, too,” added Fluhr.

“If people can see that their opposition has legitimate points that they never thought of, in the long run, everybody’s better off. Our meetings are all open to the public and we encourage people and organizations to get involved.”

Monthly meetings are held at the UDC office in Narrowsburg, NY. Visit www.upperdelawarecouncil.org to learn more.