About the Upper Delaware Council

The 1986 Management Plan for the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River recommended the establishment of an Upper Delaware Council as the oversight body responsible for the plan’s coordinated implementation among local, state, and federal stakeholders in the river valley. Full membership would consist of the 15 towns and townships that border on the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, along with the State of New York, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Delaware River Basin Commission, the National Park Service, and the former Upper Delaware Citizens Advisory Council. During the Council’s first year of incorporation in 1988, local membership included five NY towns located in the counties of Delaware, Sullivan, and Orange Counties (Hancock, Delaware, Cochecton, Lumberland, and Deerpark) and three PA townships in Pike County (Lackawaxen, Shohola, and Westfall). In 1990, three additional Sullivan County, NY towns joined (Highland, Fremont, and Tusten). Following Damascus’ decision to become the UDC’s 12th local member, the Townships of Berlin, Manchester, and Buckingham remain eligible to join. Each municipal member appoints a representative, backed up by an alternate, to attend the Council’s monthly full meeting and any committee meetings to which they wish to belong. Members receive a monthly stipend and travel reimbursement for the attendee. Membership entitles municipalities to participate in the UDC’s annual Technical Assistance Grants program, which has awarded $609,692 in cumulative funds since 1988.