D&R Greenway, Mayors: Delaware River named "River of Year 2020"

Princeton: American Rivers announces the Delaware River as 2020’s River of the Year, for its renewed health and cleanliness. The honor emphasizes “the community of individuals, organizations and municipalities, who not only mobilized but significantly joined forces, to restore health to these waters and to species dependent upon them.” The organization praises "the mighty Delaware’s: recent “momentous progress in terms of water quality, river restoration and community revitalization.”

This waterway, that played a significant role in the birth of our country, has been choked with was choked with pollutions and referred to as 'a sewer' since the 1600s. Today, the Delaware thrives, due to heroic individual and group action.

Their successes, alongside the the Swan, Moores, Jacobs, Assunpink, Crosswicks and Blacks creeks in central NJ, as well as in Mannington Meadows, provide important breeding grounds for birds severely declining in numbers due habitat loss. D&R Greenway’s 300th permanently preserved property, Woosamonsa Ridge, includes the headwaters of Jacobs Creek, which flows directly into the Delaware.

Mayor Reed Gusciora of Trenton is pleased with the river’s new honor: “The Delaware River is our connection to both past and future. It’s great to get this good news… it helps us see the importance of working together on all levels.” During these challenging times for residents in our local communities, when some depend on the river for sustenance, this announcement that the river has returned to a state of health is of major importance.

"My favorite view is the sun setting over the Delaware River," says Linda Mead, President and CEO of D&R Greenway Land Trust, who resides within the Delaware River watershed. "More than 25 years ago, I was honored to co-found Delaware River Sojourn, a multi-day annual kayaking trip along the Delaware. I am excited now to launch D&R Greenway's new kayak-supported education program in Bordentown as the Delaware is exalted to the 2020 River of the Year. By experiencing the river, and learning to love it, future leaders will be inspired to protect it."

Jim Lynch, Mayor, City of Bordentown talks of the importance of the river to his life and community, “I literally grew up on the Delaware River. Whether it was fishing on Yapewi Aquatic Boat Club’s Docks at 3:00 a.m. with my Uncle Babe or docking my first boat at Bordentown Yacht Club in 1971 under the tutelage of Past Commodore Bill Feaster, the River has had a huge impact on my life. After class let out at Bordentown Military Institute, it was down to the River for a water skiing adventure until dark. I became the youngest Commodore in Bordentown Yacht Club's history at 21 years old. Losing my father at age 12 was not easy for me. The Delaware River became my outlet, with great family support. What was once a river with many challenges of neglect and pollution has blossomed into this gem. It’s through your efforts and many others that this award is well deserved and long overdue.”

This summer at the Bordentown Beach, D&R Greenway will be launching a new education program involving kayaks, at the confluence of Crosswicks Creek with the Delaware River. Artist Marlon Davila, first-generation Guatemalan born and raised in Princeton, will be painting a relevant mural upon the kayak container at Bordentown Beach. Davila will be assisted in this project by high school youth through the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund (LALDEF). These Central Jersey students primarily come from Trenton, Ewing and Princeton. This work is supported by a grant from The William Penn Foundation. Directing the art project is Nadeem Demian, Strategic Community Conservation Fellow at D&R Greenway. He describes the kayak endeavor as having “three-fold goals: to express our human relationship to water through public art and community education; to create more diverse and inclusive conservation-conscious spaces in our region; and to foster awareness of the local community’s vital role in preserving natural resources. I am thankful to all of those who have made this program possible, and we are excited to bring this valuable asset to the River City of Bordentown."

BACKGROUND

The mission of the organization honoring the Delaware, American Rivers, is to “protect wild rivers, restore damaged rivers and conserve clean water for people and nature.” American Rivers “combine[s] national advocacy with field work in key river basins to deliver the greatest impact. They describe their staff as “practical problem-solvers with positions informed by science.” The organization’s River of the Year 2019 was the Cuyahoga, infamous for having burst into flames in the 1960’s. As Cleveland emerged as a major center for manufacturing, the river became heavily affected by industrial pollution, so much so that it "caught fire" at least 13 times, most famously on June 22, 1969, helping to spur the American environmental movement. American Rivers advises that the Delaware had been slated to be “carved by dams for flood control and water supply..., the natural character of the Delaware in danger of being lost forever.” This honor exults that “Today, the Delaware River is on the mend and thriving. Through federal safeguards, state action and local initiative, the quality of waters in the Delaware have dramatically improved. [Significant] fish and wildlife have returned in tremendous numbers... The mainstem of the Delaware remains the longest free-flowing river in the eastern United States, with the most extensive National Wild and Scenic River protection of any watershed in the country. Today, communities along the Delaware River are setting a national example of river stewardship.” https://www.americanrivers.org/