|
When Maya van Rossum arrived, marching
down the pier on Penn's Landing in Philadelphia with a back pack
over one arm and a life vest over the other, we knew we were going
to have a hard time keeping up with her. Clearly, this was a woman
with a lot of work to do and not enough time in the day to do it.
- She's faster than a jet ski, more stubborn than a tugboat, able
to leap giant oil tankers in a single bound. She's the Delaware
Riverkeeper - you better watch out!
|
|
|
The term Riverkeeper was originally an English expression
for a game warden who protects private rivers from poaching.
Today, a riverkeeper is someone who protects the river from
everything! Usually part lawyer, part activist, part public
speaker and most importantly part river lover, who works
in many ways, for many hours and with the help of many people
to make the river safe for its natural inhabitants and,
of course, for all of us.
|
|
| The Delaware River watershed
covers 13,539 square miles. The main stem river is 330 miles but there
are also 216 direct tributaries as well as hundreds of thousands of
indirect tributaries that ultimately drain to the main stem river.
There are four states- New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware
which are all in the watershed, two EPA regions and two Army Corps
of Engineers districts that help regulate the protection of the river
and its resources. |
There are hundreds of municipalities and state agencies that
all have a say over what does and does not happen to the Delaware
River and in the Delaware River watershed.
"It's quite a challenge traversing all of those various
regulatory agencies and communities, working with them (in some
cases working against them) to protect this very vital and precious
resource." Maya van Rossum
|
