The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) today announced the launch of the Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund (DWCF), a competitive grant and technical assistance program of $4.3 million that will provide new support for the protection, restoration and conservation of fish and wildlife habitats in the Delaware River Watershed, which provides drinking water for more than 15 million people.

Call it “Snailzilla” or “the Snailpocalypse,” but the New Zealand mud snail is an invasive species that is no laughing matter. Just this month, the mud snail’s presence was recorded in the Musconetcong River in New Jersey and the Little Lehigh River in Pennsylvania - the first two sightings in the Delaware River Watershed. The mud snail has the potential to rapidly reproduce through cloning and displace native macroinvertebrates. Macroinvertebrates include insects, snails, worms, algae, bacteria, and fungi that play key roles in the ecosystems they inhabit. Displacing native macroinvertebrates can have upstream affects in the food chain, by pushing out native aquatic insect larva and snail populations that feed fish and insect-eating terrestrial species like bats, dragonflies, and birds.

The Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed (CDRW) staff works to unite organizations and move policy forward that benefits the Delaware River Basin. To accomplish this, we’re often in meetings, on the phone, or sitting behind a computer screen. It’s a rare day when we’re able to venture out into the watershed, which is why when Lighthawk offered to take our staff up in a plane over the Delaware River – we “flew” at the opportunity! Lighthawk is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1979 with one man and a borrowed plane, and now they utilize over 200 volunteer pilots across the U.S. who provide conservation organizations, scientists, and other environmental experts the powerful perspective of flight.

The Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed, U.S. Senator Cory Booker’s office, New Jersey Audubon, Trout Unlimited, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Youth Corps of Phillipsburg, North Jersey RC&D, and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) gathered for a press conference Tuesday to discuss the significance New Jersey plays within Delaware River Basin and new funding coming to the state. For the first time in history, dedicated federal funding to Delaware River states was secured through the Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations omnibus bill in the amount of $5 million for the Delaware River Basin Restoration Program (DRBRP).

U.S. Senator Tom Carper, U.S. Senator Chris Coons, the Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed, Ducks Unlimited, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gathered for a press conference Friday to discuss the significance Delaware plays within Delaware River Basin and new funding coming to the state. For the first time in history, dedicated federal funding to Delaware River Basin states was secured through the Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations omnibus bill in the amount of $5 million for the Delaware River Basin Restoration Program (DRBRP).

Starting in June 2018, I am delighted to announce that I have joined the Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed (CDRW) team as Director. I join CDRW with several years’ experience in coalition building, communications, and policy strategy - a skill set I'm excited to utilize with the Coalition! I look forward to meeting with partners to talk through priorities and goals, but until then, here is a little bit about myself and how I came to work for the Coalition.

The recently-released Brandywine-Christina State of the Watershed report provides an overview of the watershed, along with the current trends and conditions of several indicators of watershed health. The report was a collaborative effort of several partners in the Brandywine-Christina Watershed, including: The Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art, Stroud Water Research Center, Natural Lands, Brandywine Red Clay Alliance, The Nature Conservancy in Delaware, the University of Delaware Water Resources Center, and the Chester County Water Resources Authority. The report was funded by the William Penn Foundation through the Delaware River Watershed Initiative.

On May 3rd, 2018 over 160 people joined together to educate, learn, and celebrate the Brandywine-Christina Watershed at the Clean Water: A Bi-State Solution conference. The conference focused on the collaborative efforts made to improve the watershed health, ongoing projects being done, and a future focus on the next steps to ensure the health of the watershed.