NARROWSBURG – Within six years, the Upper Delaware Council (UDC) predicts it will be forced to eliminate one or more full-time staff positions unless New York State or Pennsylvania can offer financial assistance.

This prediction was announced by UDC Executive Director Laurie Ramie during her presentation at the first-ever UDC Federal and State Partners Summit, to which a number of New York, Pennsylvania, and U.S. representatives were invited to listen in on the current financial status of the organization.

There are currently three employees on staff at the UDC.

After the finalization of the cooperative agreement with the National Park Service (NPS) and the passing of the 1986 River Management Plan (RMP), it was recommended that the UDC employ five full-time staff in addition to consultants to operate optimally. 

From the very start, the organization never reached the recommended amount of staff members, having only four full-time staff along with one consultant. 

Ramie reported that the number of employees dropped from the already suboptimal number of staff employed from four to three in 2012, who were fulfilling their roles with non-competitive wages. 

A call for help 

The UDC is responsible for acting as the liaison between the NPS and the 13 municipalities that sit in the Delaware Valley region. 

Ramie said that the UDC’s position between the NPS and the 13 municipalities is essential in providing the county’s townships and villages that are in the interest of protecting the Delaware River and all its natural resources with a locally-based voice.

Chairperson of the 2023 UDC Board, Aaron Robinson, gave a detailed history of the UDC and its origin story as an organization called the Conference of Upper Delaware Townships (COUP) in 1981, following an act of U.S. Congress in 1978 dedicated to the interest of protecting the Delaware River. Robinson spoke on COUP’s eventual transformation into UDC that exists today.

Robinson noted that the UDC is “running on fumes” and that losing just one more full-time staff member would mean the “end of functionality of the UDC.”

Why fund the UDC? 

Robinson answered the question by stating that not only is the organization mandated by the U.S. Congress, but that there are no alternative organizations that fulfill the roles and responsibilities that the UDC oversees. Additionally, it would destroy the uniformity in the environmental protection objectives that are strived for by the UDC.

The UDC called out to the two states as the organization was initially federally mandated by Congress over five decades ago. 

According to the UDC, neither state has fulfilled their commitment to assist the UDC in its upkeep and longevity.

NYS Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther said that she has been trying to secure more funds for the UDC, but the best way to improve the chances of receiving better funds is to make an appearance before the Legislators of New York in Albany and plead their case in the near future.

She noted that “it is not because of a lack of effort” that the UDC is facing the current issues. Gunther blamed the lack of financial assistance from New York due to the 1978 Congressional act’s weak language when it was originally written. Robinson acknowledged the work that Gunther has been doing on behalf of the UDC with gratitude.

A representative for Pennsylvania U.S. Senator John Fetterman’s office, Deputy State Director Emilee Joseph, was in agreement with Gunther regarding the necessity of the states’ attention to the UDC and its functions along the Delaware River.

Roger Saumure, UDC representative for Shohola Township, PA, said that “what is being asked for [to keep the UDC functional] is minuscule.”