Upper Delaware River (UDR) Network Newsletter

March 2026 Edition

Spring is in the air in the Upper Delaware Watershed! As the days get longer and snow begins to melt along our prized and scenic river; we are reminded of how all the seasons work together to perpetuate the beauty of the region. The sights, sounds, and smells that accompany warmer weather will be here before we know it. For now, let us enjoy the last remnants of Winter.

In this edition, you'll find an update on the 2025 UDR Network Regrant Program, information about DWCF awards, events and public learning opportunities, and a spotlight on our featured organization: Trout Unlimited.

UDR Network Regrant Projects Chosen

The UDR Network Regrant Committee met in December 2025 to discuss the projects submitted to the 2025 UDR Network Regrant Program. Regrant committee members used a standardized scoring approach to fairly and accurately assess project applications. A big thank you goes out to the scoring committee for their time and effort throughout the regrant process.

The UDR Network Regrant Program received six applications in 2025. There was $225,000 available through this program and collectively the six projects requested $430,000. Of the six applications, three were awarded:

• Oquaga Creek Post Restoration Knotweed Mitigation - Friends of the Upper Delaware River ($75,000)

• Neversink Crossing Sullivan O&W Rail Trail - Town of Fallsburg ($100,000)

• Connecting Rivers and Community: Watershed-Scale Restoration for Brook Trout throughout the Upper Delaware River of NY - Trout Unlimited ($50,000)

Thank you to all who applied! Be on the lookout for the 2026 UDR Network Regrant Program RFP this Summer.

DWCF Grant Winners and Projects

The Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund (DWCF) recently announced projects that were awarded through the 2025 DWCF grant program. Congratulations to all who were awarded funding, these projects help shape a sustainable future for our watershed! 

Projects in the UDR include:

•  Brook Trout Habitat Assessment and Restoration (NY, Friends of the Upper Delaware River)- Restore five streams and assess additional sites for potential restoration to improve habitat for brook trout in the tailwaters of the upper Delaware River in New York. The project will plant 2,000 trees, restore 2.9 miles of riparian buffer and assess 10 miles of river to address habitat erosion and identify priority areas for future implementation efforts.

• Conserving Habitat through the Upper Delaware River Conservation Collaboration (NY/PA, Delaware Highlands Conservancy)- Conserve forests, waterways and wetland habitat through land acquisitions and conservation easements in the upper Delaware River watershed in Pennsylvania and New York. The project will convene the Upper Delaware River Conservation Collaboration, a partnership of five stakeholders, to protect more than 9,000 acres of forests, floodplains, waterways, and other natural resources in perpetuity and host a minimum of 660 community engagement events to generate support for these efforts.

• Developing an Aquatic and Terrestrial Connectivity Plan for the Upper Delaware (The Nature Conservancy)- Develop a strategic plan to improve habitat connectivity for fish and wildlife by synthesizing existing connectivity plans and filling data gaps with additional field sampling in the Appalachian portion of the Delaware River watershed. The project will assess 100 road-stream crossing sites and develop a prioritized list of road crossing upgrades and complementary conservation and restoration actions.

• Improving Public Access and Recreation in the Pennsylvania Portion of the Delaware River - IV (PA, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission)- Expand a subgrant program to provide grants to public entities, including townships, boroughs, municipal and county governments, and nonprofit groups for the planning, acquisition, development, expansion and rehabilitation of public boating facilities located in the Pennsylvania portion of the Delaware River watershed. The project will improve recreation access and ensure that boaters and anglers in the Delaware River watershed have safe, clean and updated boating facilities.

• Monitoring Wild Trout Populations in the Unassessed Waters of the Delaware River II (PA, Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds)- Address the lack of assessments and monitoring of wild trout populations in the Pennsylvania drainage of the Delaware River Basin. The project will utilize a proven and transferrable private-public partnership between the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds and Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission to assess more than 500 stream miles, increasing the scientific capacity to support planning and prioritization of future implementation work.

Science Advisory Subcommittee Update

The UDR Network Science Advisory Subcommittee will feature a special guest speaker on March 5th at 11:00am. Our distinguished guest will be Duncan Brown, Macroinvertebrate Taxonomist from The Academy of Natural Sciences at Drexel University. 

Flexible Flow Management Program Webinar

On Thursday, March 19th 2026 from 6:00pm-7:30pm Friends of the Upper Delaware River will be hosting a FFMP 101 Webinar for the public to attend. The webinar will give an overview of the Flexible Flow Management Program, feature guest speakers from NYCDEP & NYSDEC, and will include a Q+A. All are welcome to attend, please register here.

Featured Watershed Partner

In this newsletter we are featuring UDR Network member the Trout Unlimited. Thanks for everything you do!

Trout Unlimited’s New York Conservation Staff are eager to now be just a few short weeks away from the start of the 2026 field season. TU and FUDR we will be carrying forward with some exciting restoration, reconnection, and habitat improvement projects in the Upper Delaware watershed. Since 2022, we’ve partnered together to complete more than 30 large scale projects across Sullivan and Delaware County that reconnected over 35 miles of wild trout habitat by reconnection & restoration efforts!

In 2026, we will continue to expand our efforts of surveying, and monitoring for future projects while completing important tributary reconnection projects by way of culvert replacements on key cold-water tributaries of the Batavia Kill and West Branch of the Delaware. Additionally, we will continue our efforts for data collection, habitat improvement & reconnection on the Upper Willowemoc. These are exciting times for wild trout and the habitat they rely on!

We would like to extend an invitation from the Upper Delaware River Watershed Network to join the UDRN Steering Committee. 

The Upper Delaware River Network's top goal is to carry out the Upper Delaware River Action Agenda and regrant funds for on the ground projects to improve the watershed.

To participate as a voting member (including a vote on which projects to fund) please email info@udrwatershed.org

Thanks for taking a moment to read the UDR Network Watershed Newsletter! We hope it helps you gain a broader understanding of all the work happening in the watershed and provides you with an opportunity to meet new partners, learn new strategies, and identify opportunities to strengthen your watershed work! 

If there is an activity or event that your organization would like featured in the next newsletter, please email info@fudr.org. To learn more about the UDR Watershed Network, visit our website https://www.udrwatershed.org.

-The UDR Watershed Network Team

Activities and Important Dates