It's against the law to kill threatened species, and it's just plain cruel to repetitively year after year kill the silent and the helpless. Someone must be responsible for this, and truth be told it is no secret: through the mismanagement of funds, the cruel irresponsibility of some individuals who call themselves friends, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and the State of Pennsylvania, this historical landmark, our Delaware Canal, has become a killing zone and a sham. Last year when the headgates at Easton were opened with much celebration, the waters rushed in from the north bringing with it thousands of animal victims. Now the canal in many places is completely dry and dead.
The canal has never been repaired properly and leaks tremendously from Bridge #2 around the boyscout camp all the way down to River Road at New Hope, the pump at Center Bridge is broken, an inferior model that has broken numerous times and can't be run in winter anyway. And we're told nothing can be done: the State's hands are tied. There are some individuals in New Hope, outside of the DCNR, who issue orders and everyone must step up to bat according to their wishes. They have money to fix the problems, but they never do. They spare not a dime for the proper reparation of the canal even after FEMA gave $40 million dollars for cleanup after the floods. Instead, some of the paths alongside the canal were repaired and red clay placed back on them.
No money for the animals, just for appearances: the towpath, the mule barge, the treacherous canal waters that are allowed to recede completely each autumn leaving small pools of mud and an inch or two of water where the fish lie suffocating, the turtles quickly bury themselves to hibernate but will never make it until summer because there is no water to cover and protect them from the winter, the giant snails that await the water until the 85-105 degree summers cause them to rot.
There is a solution. Other canals all over the world have been rehabilitated. This canal, slated to open again in spring must not be refilled. Not until it is fixed once and for all. The killing must not be allowed to continue.
There is much to be learned from the "other canals" but unfortunately, egos seem to be getting in the way.
ReplyDeleteIf they need money all they have to do is follow what the Raritan did and figure out a way turn the canal into a source for drinking water. The Raritan is always flowing, it's a great recreational amenity, you can even eat its fish because there are no pesticides / herbicides used in its water or on the adjacent ground.
If you haven't already, you should go to the next Advisory Committee meeting and ask your questions. See if you can get a local reporter to be there also. Also consider taking this a step further and call a press conference.
Let's not forget that the park is owned and paid for by the taxpayers not the DCNR.
I believe that there are some very responsible people higher up in the DCNR. Their phone numbers are no secret.
The protest that I was involved in regarding modernizing the authentic earthen canal path into a hard surface bike trail went on for years...but we did get a front page photo and article in the Intel. And we did get their attention. We warned them that the new surface would wash away in heavy rains and floods but they didn't listen. We were right.
Good luck...keep up the good work.
This is very informative. Man has such a hard time wanting to control the natural environment. Greed being the main reason for wanting it all. The suffering the creatures are made to go through in the canal bed is unthinkable, esp. in an area of such highly educated people. The people in this area have a lot of money and contact. They could put both of these resources where their mouths are to truly be a Friend of the Canal and have it fixed correctly ... or fill it in. It is also a breeding ground for disease,
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