Lackawanna College Students to Discuss Upper Delaware Region’s Future

UPPER DELAWARE VALLEY -- Look 50 years into the future of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River. What do you see? Lackawanna Community College students will project the effect of the Principles of the Upper Delaware Land and Water Use Guidelines on the community, economy, and environment of the river corridor in the year 2063, during an engaging program on Thursday, May 2, , at 7:00 p.m., to kick off a meeting of the Upper Delaware Council, 211 Bridge Street, Narrowsburg, NY. The public is invited.
Led by Jamie Reeger, director of the Lackawanna Community College Environmental Institute and program director for the Ecological Sustainability Degree at the college’s Lake Region Campus, students partnered with the National Park Service and guest instructors to use the principles of sustainable development acquired through the Land Use Planning and Sustainable Development course to design a program targeting economically, socially and environmentally sustainable development as a Service Learning Project.
The students applied legal, political, and economic considerations of land use planning in developing their program, including understanding of land use planning in the United States, familiarity with current applications of land use law, and theories of sustainable development, to critically evaluate policies and use the tools and philosophies to rebuild and grow communities while respecting natural resources and promoting diversity.

Congress designated the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River as a National Wild and Scenic River in 1978 to protect its outstanding water quality, free flow and “Outstandingly Remarkable” values. The National Park Service partners with the Upper Delaware Council, representing municipalities and agencies of New York and Pennsylvania that border the 73.4-mile-long Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, as well as the Delaware River Basin Commission, to assure protecting those values through the Upper Delaware Land and Water Use Guidelines. More information is available at www.nps.gov/upde, or by calling (570) 729-8251.

The Ecological Sustainability degree at Lackawanna College is a progressive, field-based program designed for students who would like to enter the field of “green jobs” with a new world view. This two-year Associate in Science degree connects students directly to community experts and job opportunities in the region. It also is matched to liberal arts studies to make a smooth transition to a four-year school.

Lackawanna College is focused on developing students not only academically, but also as contributing future citizens. Through Service Learning projects, students gain a deeper hands-on understanding of the complex needs in their local community settings, benefitting the community and the students, who gain critical thinking skills, more enhanced communication skills and a confident sense of how their contributions can make powerful changes in people’s lives. Information on the College and its programs is available at www.lackawanna.edu. The Lake Region campus can be reached at (570) 842-1506.

Established in 1988, the Upper Delaware Council, Inc. (UDC) is a non-profit organization comprised of 13 local governments, the State of New York, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the Delaware River Basin Commission which operates under a Cooperative Agreement with the National Park Service to oversee implementation of the River Management Plan for the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River. For more information on the Council and its activities, call (845) 252-3022 or visit www.upperdelawarecouncil.org.