NatioNal Park Service • U.S. DePartmeNt of the iNterior Foundation Document Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River New York, Pennsylvania February 2014 Photo by David B. Soete Foundation Document From Hancock, NY to Binghamton, NY From Hancock, NY 43 miles 0 25 Kilometers to Albany, NY 134 miles D N.Y. e 0 25 Miles la Pa. w Kingston a Hancock r 17 North e Upper Delaware 97 52 209 Scenic and Monticello 87 81 Recreational N.Y. River 17B Thruway Honesdale (toll) River 652 Narrowsburg Carbondale Pa. Wurtsboro Lackawaxen 6 Hawley Barryville Newburgh 6 River Middletown 17 84 Port Jervis Scranton Milford Delaware Matamoras Hudson NE Extension Water Gap Pa. Turnpike National N.Y. (toll) Recreation 209 206 N.J. 380 Area 23 15 From Port Jervis, NY Stroudsburg to New York City, NY 476 75 miles From Port Jervis, NY 80 to Philadelphia, PA 33 140 miles Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River Contents Mission of the National Park Service 1 Introduction 2 Part 1: Core Components 3 Brief Description of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River 3 Purpose Statement 6 Significance Statements 7 Fundamental Resources and Values 8 Interpretive Themes 10 Part 2: Dynamic Components 11 Special Mandates and Administrative Commitments 11 Assessment of Planning and Data Needs 13 Analysis of Fundamental Resources and Values 13 Identification of Key Issues 13 Planning and Data Needs 14 Part 3: Contributors 21 Appendixes 22 Appendix A: Fundamental Resource and Values Analysis Tables for Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River 22 Appendix B: Enabling Legislation and Legislative Acts for Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River 38 Appendix C: Inventory of Special Mandates and Administrative Commitments 62 Appendix D: Related Federal Legislation, Regulations, and Executive Orders 63 Appendix E: Wild and Scenic River Values 65 Foundation Document NPS Photo Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River Mission of the National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The NPS cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world. The NPS core values are a framework in which the NPS accomplishes its mission. They express the manner in which, both individually and collectively, the NPS pursues its mission. The NPS core values are: . Shared stewardship: We share a commitment to resource stewardship with the global preservation community. Excellence: We strive continually to learn and improve so that we may achieve the highest ideals of public service. Integrity: We deal honestly and fairly with the public and one another. Tradition: We are proud of it; we learn from it; we are not bound by it. Respect: We embrace each other’s differences so that we may enrich the well- being of everyone. The NPS is a bureau within the Department of the Interior. While numerous national park system units were created prior to 1916, it was not until August 25, 1916, that President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Park Service Organic Act formally establishing the National Park Service. The national park system continues to grow and comprises 401 NPS units covering more than 84 million acres in every state, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. These units include, but are not limited to, national parks, monuments, battlefields, military parks, historical parks, historic sites, lakeshores, wild and scenic rivers, seashores, recreation areas, scenic rivers and trails, and the White House. The variety and diversity of NPS units throughout the nation require a strong commitment to resource stewardship and management in order to ensure both the protection and enjoyment of these resources for future generations. Within this document, the terms “Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River,” “park unit,” and “unit” are used to refer to the NPS management entity. The term “river corridor” refers to all land and waters, both public and private, that fall within the designated boundary of the management entity. The arrowhead was authorized as the official National Park Service emblem by the Secretary of the Interior on July 20, 1951. The sequoia tree and bison represent vegetation and wildlife, the mountains and water represent scenic and recreational values, and the arrowhead represents historical and archeological values. 1 Foundation Document Introduction Every unit of the national park system is to have a foundation document that will provide basic guidance for planning and management decisions. The core components of a foundation document include a brief description of the NPS unit as well as the unit’s purpose, significance, fundamental resources and values, and interpretive themes. The foundation document also includes special mandates and administrative commitments, an assessment of planning and data needs that identifies planning issues, planning products to be developed, and the associated studies and data required for planning. Along with the core components, the assessment provides a focus for NPS unit planning activities and establishes a baseline from which planning documents are developed. A primary benefit of developing a foundation document is the opportunity to integrate and coordinate all kinds and levels of planning from a single, shared understanding of what is most important about the unit. The process of developing a foundation document begins with gathering and integrating information about the unit. Next, this information is refined and focused to determine what the most important attributes of the unit are. The process of preparing a foundation document aids unit managers, staff, and the public in identifying and clearly stating in one document the essential information that is necessary for management to consider when determining future planning efforts, outlining key planning issues, and protecting resources and values that are integral to unit purpose and identity. While not included in this document, an NPS unit atlas is also part of a foundation project. The atlas is a series of maps compiled from available geographic information system (GIS) data on natural and cultural resources, visitor use patterns, facilities, and other topics. It serves as a GIS-based support tool for planning and unit operations. The atlas is published as a geospatial data for use in a web mapping environment. The atlas for Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River can be accessed online at: http://insideparkatlas.nps.gov NPS Photo 2 Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River Part 1: Core Components The core components of a foundation document include a brief description of the unit, a purpose statement, significance statements, fundamental resources and values, and interpretive themes. These components are core because they typically do not change over time. Core components are expected to be used in future planning and management efforts. Brief Description of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River Despite the proximity of the Upper Delaware River to major urban centers in the Northeast, the area possesses outstanding natural and cultural resources. To acknowledge this, Congress, in 1978, designated 73.4 miles of the Upper Delaware River as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System and as a unit of the national park system. The designation covers the river segment beginning at the confluence of the east and west branches of the Delaware River at Hancock, New York, and extends downstream to Railroad Bridge No.2, in the vicinity of Mill Rift, Pennsylvania. The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act states that the river must be protected in its free-flowing condition and that it must be managed for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations. Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River is the dividing boundary between Pennsylvania and New York along portions of 5 counties and 15 towns/townships. The Delaware River is the longest and one of the cleanest rivers in the eastern United States that remains undammed the length of its main stem. The NPS unit is a working partnership dedicated to preserving the “outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural … and other similar resource values that qualified Upper Delaware for inclusion in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.” (Upper Delaware Act P.L. 95-625 November 10, 1978) The NPS owns only 30.4 acres of the just over 55,575 acres of land within the river corridor NPS Photo for which the agency has management responsibility under the enabling legislation. NPS-owned lands include the historic Roebling’s Delaware Aqueduct and portions of the Delaware and Hudson (D&H) Canal, a historic toll house, Zane Grey Museum, and Corwin Farm, as well as administrative structures. The remaining predominantly privately owned land is managed in accordance with the Land and Water Use Guidelines (Guidelines) set forth in the 1986 Final River Management Plan for the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River (River Management Plan), as required by the enabling legislation, which describes ways that existing local and state laws and authorities will be used to safeguard the Upper Delaware’s resources. 3 Foundation Document NPS Photo The Upper Delaware Council, a nonprofit organization whose membership consists of the 15 municipalities,