UPPER DELAWARE RIVER — The 34th annual family raft trip, organized by the Upper Delaware Council (UDC), attracted 51 guests on August 7. People paddled a scenic five-mile stretch of the Upper Delaware River, from Skinners Falls to Narrowsburg.
Lander’s River Trips provided the rafts, paddles, life vests, morning shuttles and pre-launch safety briefings.
Paddlers numbered 47 adults and four children aged four to 12. They took advantage of the host livery’s discounted group rates and the trip coordination provided by the UDC.
The UDC holds this event on the first Sunday of August each year, on alternating sections of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River. The goal is to promote awareness and stewardship through direct contact with the recreational resource.
The Upper Delaware Council was created and mandated in 1988 by an Act of Congress. It oversees a partnership of federal, state (NY and PA), and local governments, managing the 73.4-mile Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River.
The UDC fills a vital role in the relationship between the National Park Service and the local communities, protecting home rule authority, safeguarding private property rights, and advising towns/townships on meeting the river management plan’s land- and water-use guidelines, a press release from the UDC noted.
The organization has been funded through a federal allocation, flat since its inception, the UDC said, with neither the State of New York nor the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania contributing their shares.
Despite funding challenges, the release added, the UDC has fulfilled the core responsibilities set out in the federal legislation for the benefit of the approximately 250,000 visitors each year and all those fortunate enough to live in the Upper Delaware river valley.
For more information, call 845/252-3022, or visit www.upperdelawarecouncil.org. You can find the UDC on social media at UpperDelawareCouncil, or on Twitter at UpperDelCouncil.