GRAPHIC
One of the groups involved in the project would like to see a tax placed on natural gas drilling in the river basin to support restoration of wildlife habitat and towns impacted by the drilling.
The Nature Conservancy has received a $450,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to fund a comprehensive conservation project in the Delaware River Basin, officials said.
The project is a joint effort among the Nature Conservancy's Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and East New York chapters, the Natural Lands Trust and the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary.
Scientists will use digital mapping technology to identify priority conservation areas for a wide range of river and estuarine habitats in the Delaware Basin and Bay. That includes tidal marshes, flood plains and headwater streams, said Michele DePhilip, director of freshwater conservation for the Nature Conservancy in Pennsylvania.
"Knowing exactly where certain natural systems exist, and accurately describing their current conditions and threats, will guide more effective conservation of biodiversity within the basin, and could help direct limited conservation dollars toward the most critical work," DePhilip said.
The Delaware River Basin and its surrounding watershed represent one of the most intact freshwater systems in the region. The river's 300-plus miles has no dams on it, but there are numerous dams on the river basin's roughly 42 feeder streams. The basin drains more than 13,000 square miles and provides water for almost 15 million people, officials said.
Since all freshwater systems are linked to their surrounding lands, development, pollution and climate change can have negative impacts. There's a history of habitat loss and degradation in many altered and polluted river systems within the greater northeastern United States, said DePhilip.
But opportunities still exist to conserve high-quality habitats and restore those that have been degraded, she said.
The Delaware Basin Restoration Initiative will identify opportunities to protect and improve water quality and habitat, and provide a blueprint for the region's conservation organizations and agencies to implement components of the plan, said Peter Williamson, vice president of conservation services for the Natural Lands Trust.
"With looming threats like climate change and energy development, a coordinated approach to protecting freshwater systems like the Delaware River Basin is critical," he said.
Williamson's group is one of dozens of organizations that supports a tax on natural gas drilling with portions dedicated to the Environmental Stewardship Fund, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat and Game commissions to restore wildlife habitat, and to local impacted governments, according to online reports.
