ANNAPOLIS, MD — Protecting and conserving the Delaware River watershed is essential to improving water quality, reducing flooding, mitigating the effects of climate change, and protecting the sensitive ecosystems upon which wildlife depend. The Delaware River Basin stretches 13,000 square miles, from upstate New York to the Delaware Bay and is vital to ensuring access to clean water for more than 14 million people. The National Wildlife Federation and the Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed urged Congress to reauthorize the bipartisan Delaware River Basin Conservation Reauthorization Act, which expired in September 2023 and is critical to the protection of the Delaware River watershed.
“We stand at a crucial juncture, where both communities and wildlife within the basin are feeling the effects of a shifting climate,” said Kelly Knutson, the coalition’s director. “The increasing frequency of severe flooding events and prolonged droughts, highlights the urgent need to invest in programs that address conservation challenges in our region”.
Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Penn.) reintroduced the bill reauthorizing funding for Delaware River watershed conservation. If passed, this legislation would extend funding for conservation programs through 2030 and help small, rural and disadvantaged communities access this funding for important ecosystem protection measures and water quality improvements.
The legislation would increase access to federal funding, especially for those applicants that may have been excluded due to the current requirements and to ensure equitable use of resources by prioritizing the communities most in need in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey
The legislation also establishes a Delaware River Watershed Conservation Fund, which provides funding to improve water quality, protects local ecological diversity, expands public access to recreation, and generates new economic opportunities throughout the mid-Atlantic region. Since 2018, the Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund has provided more than $55 million for 195 conservation projects.
Learn more on the legislation here.