D-CAAL: Letter to The Editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer, April 20, 2011

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Letter to The Editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer, April 20, 2011

The Delaware Canal Conundrum at New Hope
What Jack Donahue, president of Friends of The Delaware Canal, along with the other members of his organization, and Rick Dalton of the DCNR all fail to take into account is that it is truly a godsend that they did not voluntarily pour water into the canal in the month of March, nor in this month of April, nor will they for the rest of the summer of 2011. A small but slowly evolving enclave of local residents along the Delaware Canal called the Delaware Canal Anti-Annihilation League or D-CAAL will attempt their best to prevent the haphazard and irresponsible refilling of the canal year after year until it is once and for all repaired properly and ceases to be a killing-zone for the local fauna that inhabit it. For years now the DCNR has been ordered by the "Friends" to refill the dry bed for the sake of tourism and hence appearances. Water is deviated from the Delaware River through the locks bringing with it thousands of animals: many species of fish and turtles, mussels, snails, eels and snakes. By fall each year they are left writhing in wet mud until they die as all of the water drains out again from the canal. This canal is a national landmark. It is a shambles and a travesty and while it ought to be given high priority as a protected habitat for regional fauna and flora, it never is. The other solution is to never refill it again if it cannot for the first time, since the running of the mule barges, be competently repaired. Shame on those who think only of commerce at the expense of these silent, innocent creatures.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Delaware Canal State Park Reptile & Amphibian Species List

Amphibians

Common NameScientific Name Northern cricket frog Acris crepitans crepitans, American toad Bufo americanus, Fowlers toad Bufo fowleri, Northern two-lined salamander Eurycea bislineata bislineata, Redbacked salamander Plethodon cinereus, Slimy salamander Plethodon g. glutinosus, New Jersey chorus frog Pseudacris triseriata kalmi, Bullfrog Rana catesbeiana, Green frog Rana clamitans melanota, Northern pickerel Rana palustris, Wood frog Rana sylvatica.

Reptiles

Common NameScientific Name Northern copperhead Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen, Snapping turtle Chelydra serpentina, Eastern painted turtle Chrysemys picta picta, Northern black racer Coluber constrictor constrictor, Northern ringneck snake Diadophis punctatus edwardsi, Map turtle Graptemys geographica, Eastern milk snake Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum, Northern water snake Nerodia sipedon sipedon, Red-bellied turtle Pseudemys rubriventris, Eastern box turtle Terrapene carolina carolina, Eastern garter snake Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis.

(DCNR, http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/delawarecanal/delawarecanal_herps.aspx)

Who we are:

We are a group of concerned individuals whose voices are speaking out for the rights of the silent minority: all of the animals of the Delaware Canal and its surroundings. We are not yet a powerful group but we are adding to our numbers everyday. Our mission is to stop the forced filling and refilling of the Delaware Canal on the Pennsylvania side from Easton to New Hope unless it is completely and competently repaired. Our aim is to bring awareness and educate the people of the Delaware Valley, the Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia and surrounding areas, as well as all those who come to Southeastern Pennsylvania as tourists, and have them voluntarily join our ranks against the repetitive injustice that occurs each year.

Beware, all is not what it appears to be!

The water that comes flowing down each spring or summer from the northern reaches of the Delaware River by Easton into the canal is a forced mission by certain local monied groups who through their funding and personal connections in the government strong-arm the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) into complying with the reopening of the headgate at Easton and various locks that join the canal to the Delaware River without ever having completed any repair on the canal. This is done for the sake of tourism, making the little river towns look cute and more inviting for shoppers and other visitors.

By winter every year, the canal bed is dry and filled with dead turtles, fish, mussels, and giant snails.

Links

D-CAAL Our main site.
Greenpeace The leading independent campaigning organization that uses peaceful direct action and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and to promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.
Sea Shepherd Established in 1977, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is an international non-profit, marine wildlife conservation organization. Our mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world's oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species.
PETA PETA's animal rights campaigns include ending fur and leather use meat and dairy consumption fishing hunting trapping factory farming circuses bull fighting rodeos and animal experimentation.