Trout Unlimited - Action Alert
Delaware River Adapative Release Policy

March 15, 2007 20

What's Going On:
The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) will soon be voting on a new proposal for managing water releases from three New York City reservoirs that directly impact 120 miles of rivers, including the famed upper main stem of the Delaware River, the West Branch Delaware, East Branch Delaware, and Neversink Rivers. The deadline for public comment is April 6th. We need you to tell the Governors and New York City that the Delaware River ecosystem must be protected.

Why You Should Care:
The Delaware River has been mismanaged since the Supreme Court partitioned its many tributaries to ensure sufficient water supplies for New York City, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Inflexible and antiquated rules designed over a half century ago result in fish kills, a depressed recreational economy, communities in fear of flooding, and a damaged ecosystem.

In years when rainfall is plentiful, water releases are often at their lowest, exposing large sections of river bottom and warming water temperatures to lethal levels. Water levels often fluctuate wildly, disru pting insect hatches and needlessly damaging the health of the rivers a nd a multi-million dollar recreational tourist industry.

A coalition of conservation groups including Trout Unlimited have devel oped an adaptive release policy (http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?ID 3DM724584497478358942724565) that follows the same framework as the DR BC's proposed policy, but delivers more water to the rivers in the spri ng and summer. The policy "adapts" by releasing more water when rese rvoirs are higher and adjusts releases by season. The coalition's po licy creates significant habitat gains for trout, American shad, and th e overall health of the main stem of the Delaware River and its headwat ers. Extensive modeling and analysis have verified that the coalitio n's adaptive release policy poses no additional risk to water supplies.

What You Can Do:
Please write an a letter to Delaware Basin Governors and New York City, and urge them to support the conservation coalition's Adaptive Release Policy. (http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?ID3DM72458458747835894 2724565) The coalition's adaptive release policy can initiate a new ch apter for one of the premier wild trout river systems in the East, and potentially could serve as a national and international model for river management. Please feel free to get in touch with me with any questi ons or if you need more information.20

Nat Gillespie Fisheries Scientist, Trout Unlimited (703) 284-9431 ngillespie@tu.org (mailto:ngillespie@tu.org)