On Tuesday, March 10th, 2020 Appalachian Mountain Club joined advocates from the Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed (CDRW) for the Coalition’s annual Hill Day event.
During the event, representatives from 22 member organizations joined 3 volunteer advocates to conduct meetings with Congressional offices serving districts within the boundaries of the Delaware River watershed. Appalachian Mountain Club is a CDRW Steering Committee and organization member, and policy staff from the Mid Atlantic Conservation Office work in collaboration to augment the Coalition’s impact in the region. The group that traveled to the capital city met with 32 Congressional offices to discuss federal policy priorities that will advance organizational capacity to protect and restore the Delaware River Basin.
Advocates meet with Representative Chrissy Houlahan (center) of PA District 6 during CDRW’s Annual Hill Day. Advocates pictured left to right: Beth Brown of PA Audubon, Kimberly Witt of AMC, Fred Gender of French and Pickering Conservation Trust, and Olivia LeWarn of Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed.
AMC recognizes two key axioms which guide efforts in the Pennsylvania Highlands and beyond: (1) landscape-level conservation requires robust partnerships and (2) a multi-faceted, ecosystem approach is required to produce results across those landscapes. Working with colleagues through coalitions is a key strategy to accomplish this work.
In Washington DC teams from various CDRW member organizations met with Congressional offices to talk about federal policy priorities, including the Delaware River Basin Restoration Program, Partnership Wild and Scenic Rivers Program, Clean Water State Revolving Fund, Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, and the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
Land conservation in the Pennsylvania Highlands works in tandem with these national and geographically-specific policies to protect the natural environment, ensure access to clean water, and provide outdoor recreation opportunities for communities and visitors.
PA Highlands is a 13-county, 1.4 million acre region, stretching from the Delaware River Basin in the east to the Susquehanna River Basin as one travels west. The Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed has a sister coalition, the Choose Clean Water Coalition. This group works within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, and representatives from the sister coalition also joined the group for the March 10th Hill Day.
AMC works in partnership and advocates for the PA Highlands to protect the region’s rural community character, tourism, outstanding recreational opportunities, critical wildlife habitat, quality drinking water, and productive farms and forests – all of which contribute to the economic and aesthetic value of the area.