For Immediate Release
October 15, 1999
(WEST TRENTON, N.J.) - A consortium of government agencies and non-profit groups from New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware today announced a three-day, basin-wide conference on the Delaware River watershed Nov. 15-17 at the Adam’s Mark Hotel, City Line Ave. and Monument Rd., Philadelphia.
The goals of the conference are to educate participants about the current state of the watershed, showcase innovative strategies and examples of effective watershed programs, and foster public/private partnerships.
The first day of the conference will include a choice of 11 daylong training seminars and field trips. The second day will feature "state of the basin" information with keynote speakers, plenary sessions, and workshops on watershed management and sustainability. The final day will be dedicated to showcasing model solutions and success stories, plus workshops aimed at propelling implementation of specific suggestions.
The conference is the culmination of a multi-part process called "Flowing Toward the Future: 21st Century Directions for the Delaware River and its Watersheds," designed to generate a vision for the river and its tributaries in the next millennium by focusing on consensus building.
Actions leading up to the three-day conference have included a series of 10 public workshops throughout the four-state Delaware River Basin last spring and a Governors’ Summit on Sept. 29 attended by Gov. Christine Todd Whitman and Gov. Thomas R. Carper, as well as state and federal government environmental leaders.
Conference sponsors include the Delaware Estuary Program, Heritage Conservancy, National Park Service, William Penn Foundation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), PECO Energy, Pa. Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Del. Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), and the Port of Philadelphia and Camden.
The conference is being organized by the Alliance for a Sustainable Future, DNREC, Delaware Estuary Program, Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), Heritage Conservancy, National Park Service, N.J. Department of Environmental Protection, New Jersey Future, N.Y. State Department of Environmental Conservation, Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, Pa. Department of Environmental Protection, Stroud Water Research Center, U.S. EPA, Upper Delaware Council, and Water Resources Association of the Delaware River Basin.
The Delaware River and its 216 feeder streams and rivers drain 13,539 square miles in the four basin states. Over seven million people live in the basin and another ten million people who live outside the watershed also depend on it for water supply.
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Contact: Clarke Rupert, DRBC, 609-883-9500 ext. 260
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