Summer 2010 Download the pdf newsletter version (180k)
CANAL NEWS
Two Years and Many Tons of Excavated Earth Later
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| Celebrating the start of the flood repairs at the Forks of the Delaware in Easton.
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March 14, 2008
Members of the Friends, State and local officials, PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources representatives, a contingent of stakeholders, and the Popple Construction and Bi-State Construction foremen gathered at the Forks of the Delaware/Lock 24 in Easton to celebrate the long-awaited start of the major flood repair work on the Delaware Canal. Wishes for fast and smooth progress were made, and everyone posed for a photo in front of Popple's fully extended, long-arm track excavator.
Dave Kemmerer, Assistant Director of the PA Bureau of State Parks, and Terry Purcell, Delaware Canal State Park Maintenance Manager, both quipped that hey hoped that the work would be done before they retired.
March 7, 2010
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| The brim-full Canal was so inviting that neighbors in Yardley launched their canoe for a Sunday afternoon paddle. |
Nearly all of the Canal flood repair work is done.
South of New Hope the canal prism (the ditch) is clear, the banks have been shaped and seeded, and the stabilized turf towpath surface is in place. Runoff from local incoming streams and melting snow has filled all but the most southern sections of the Canal.
To the north, Popple Construction is returning to work on the last flood repair section - Upper Black Eddy to New Hope. They had already made good progress before winter hit. Easton to Upper Black Eddy is done except for finishing touches. The six remaining structure projects are again underway with the Easton stop gate almost complete. The relining of the Canal in New Hope is finished and seems to be working. Many areas of the Canal are watered with runoff.
Dave Kemmerer and Terry Purcell haven't retired and aren't about to soon.
Now we await more progress and the red-letter days when the State Park officials open the gates and allow river water to pour into the Canal. Since only grass growth (as required by the construction contract) is holding up the rewatering of the southern end, the opening of the Armco gates behind Odette's in New Hope should take place in late April or early May.
Everyone is ready to celebrate, so the Friends are planning to greet the Delaware River water when it enters the Canal. If you have a canoe or kayak or other vessel, we hope that you'll put it in the Canal that day. You can launch at the northern section of Washington Crossing Historic Park, east of the Thompson-Neely House, and paddle north to New Hope to be ready to ride the released river water south. It won't be white water, but you will be able to brag that you paddled on the first of the flow.
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| Photo by Carole Mebus |
For those of you who are boatless, please come to the towpath behind Odette's to witness the opening and follow the canoes and kayaks south to Washington Crossing Park where we'll all have some treats and toast the renewed Delaware Canal.
That's the plan, but there is one difficulty. We don't know the date when the State will open the gates, but we do know that it will be on a Saturday. So, we ask you to keep your eye on the Friends' website and the newspapers. Feel free to call or e-mail for updates, too. We'll let you know when the big day will be as soon as we know. It's our chance to finally cheer.
When the Canal is ready from Easton to New Hope, in July we hope, we will have a similar celebration in Easton where the Lehigh River will fill the Canal. Again, watch for the big date.
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Seven Sections of the Canal Adopted
The call for Canal Tenders in the winter newsletter was heeded by seven volunteers. Now one-quarter of the Canal's 58.9-mile length has been adopted.
Here are the first Canal Tenders, starting from the north:
Carole Mebus
Wy-Hit-Tuk Park to Mueller's Store - Easton
Marge and Tom Copenhaver
Lock 17 to Bridge 3 - Smithtown
Drew Giehl
Bridge 2 to Mountainside Inn - Point Pleasant
Vicky and David Child
Phillips' Mill to Rabbit Run Bridge - New Hope
Richard Vinet and Traditions Volunteers
Stoney Run Aqueduct to Mt. Eyre Road - Upper Makefield
Bob Ketler
Mt. Eyre Road to Afton Avenue - Lower Makefield/Yardley
George Baxter
Black Rock Road to Ferry Road - Lower Makefield
Please consider adopting any of the remaining sections of the Canal. Three-quarters are still waiting.
The Canal Tenders program is similar to PennDOT's Adopt-a-Highway project. A Tender chooses where he/she would like to work and how long a stretch he/she will cover. Many past and present volunteers took on sections that they already walked on a regular basis. Canal Tenders collect trash, watch for the emergence of invasive species, take on other maintenance tasks if they so choose, and are responsible for notifying the Friends and/or the Park staff of problems, such as fallen trees, erosion, and bank breaks. The volunteers are asked to submit a short report quarterly about conditions along their sections.
The Delaware Canal has been around for 183 years because people have cared for it with diligence and dedication. Please carry on this vital tradition by becoming a Canal Tender. To find out more about the program or to volunteer, call 215-862-2021 or e-mail friends@fodc.org.
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Garlic mustard - it's everywhere. |
What's going to grow on the Canal banks this spring? In the areas where the earth was disturbed during the flood repair work, recently sown grass is to establish itself. In other stretches, a wide variety of plant life will continue its growth.
Both the new and established areas warrant vigilance because invasive species are already growing all along the Canal and could get an even firmer root-hold this year. The newly planted banks are particularly vulnerable.
If you see invasive plants, pull them out, or if the growth is beyond mere pulling, please call the Park Office at 610-9982-5560 and report your invasive species find.
To learn more about invasives and their control, search the Internet using "mid-Atlantic invasive species" or call or e-mail the Friends and request a brochure developed by the Tinicum Conservancy. Michael Van Clef, the speaker at the Friends' March meeting recommends visiting the Central Jersey Invasive Species Strike Team website www.cjisst.org. There you'll find a full menu of information that pertains to neighboring Pennsylvania as well.
One of the easier invasive species to deal with is garlic mustard. It is easy (and satisfying) to extract from the ground, but requires several seasons of pre-seed release pulling or cutting to tame its spread.
Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) came from Europe. Its presence in America was first recorded in 1868 in Long Island, NY and was probably brought by settlers for food and medicinal purposes. It is a biennial herb in the mustard family.
Not particular about where it grows, first year garlic mustard plants appear as rosettes of kidney-shaped leaves that can stay green throughout the winter. In its second year, the one to four-foot-high plants form shoots that rapidly elongate and sprout white flowers in early spring. The "fruits" that follow are slender capsules that contain a row of shiny black seeds. The leaves and stems have a garlic-like odor when crushed.
White-tailed deer aid the spread of the plant because they prefer to eat native wildflowers and leave garlic mustard untouched. Many spring wildflowers such as spring beauty, bloodroot, Dutchman's breeches, and trilliums are overcome by garlic mustard.
This spring, when you see garlic mustard, pluck it out. The spring beauties will be most appreciative.
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Flora and Fauna Atlas Coming Very Soon
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Photo by Carole Mebus |
New member Carole Mebus caught this robin longing for spring AND to have his photograph included in the new Flora and Fauna Atlas. The page can be found on the website Navigation Bar, and it is beginning to be filled with all the animals, fish, insects, plants, and trees that can be found living in and along the Delaware Canal. Check it out and add some photos of your own. The page was made possible with a grant from the Bucks County Conference and Visitors Bureau.
Park Manager's Report
By Rick Dalton
Spring has sprung. After a seemingly long winter with record snowfalls, the weather is starting to turn. Now we can get back to the repair projects along the Canal in earnest.
There is the last section of Canal repairs from Upper Black Eddy to New Hope to be completed. Along with that project, we also have a handful of structure projects to get done. These projects include four stop gates, Lock 12, and the waste gates at Indian Rock Inn. The stop gate near the Easton Sewage Treatement Plant is nearly complete.
The section of the Canal south of New Hope is essentially done with the exception of grass growth. We should be able to fully water that section this spring.
We are still on track to have all the projects completed byFall 2010. This is a conservative estimate, and, hopefully, we will be done ahead of that projection. We really can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
The State budget situation has resulted in a significant reduction in our staffing. it is difficult to keep up. The heavy snowfalls this winter did not help this problem. There are a lot of trees and branches down all along the towpath. Please bear with us while we address the removal of these obstructions.
Once again, I want to thank all of our neighbors along the Canal who have permitted the contractors' access to the Canal for repairs. Without you the work would have been more difficult, if not impossible.
As always thanks to all the members of the Friends for your continued support of the Canal.
Please click here to view the Progress Report.
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The Friends - In Six Words
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The Friends' Board of Directors and members of the Advisory Board devoted a Saturday in February to the task of evaluating our organization and charting its future.
To get everyone in the right mindset, facilitator Ron DiLeo, President of In the Black, a performance consultancy, gave out an assignment. "Write a six word story about what the Friends of the Delaware Canal means to you."
The notion of six word stories originated in the 1920's when colleagues of Ernest Hemingway bet him that he couldn't write a complete story in just six words. They lost, and Hemingway wrote what is said he considered his best work - "For sale: baby shoes, never used."
Here are some of the Board's writings:
Took a walk. Found a cause.
Historic ditch almost wet again. HOORAY!
25 years canalside living...10 dry.
Flooding. Crying. Rallying.Rebuilding. Watering. Rejoicing.
My grandchildren glimpsed another age's ingenuity.
Sixty mile: many needs, little money.
Sunshine, sparkling water, boats, towpath, tourists.
If you're inspired, please send us you own six word story about the Canal. It's challenging fun.
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Strength in Numbers
Arriving in your mailbox in May will be a request to renew your Friends of the Delaware Canal membership for the year 2010. Please lend your support and help the Friends fulfill the Canal's potential.
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Tools You Can Use
If you are planning an outing on the Canal or just have a need to get your bearings, the Landmark and Mileage Chart found on the Canal Maps/Charts page is an amazingly handy tool.
The Chart locates:
Canal structures such as locks, aqueducts, and waste gates
Street and highway intersections
Landmarks
Parking areas
Adjacent municipal parks
Municipal boundaries
To see a map of a specific area, copy and paste the latitude and longitude coordinates that are provided by the Chart into a map locator such as Google Maps.
When you're out on the Canal towpath, keep track of your mileage by using the granite mile markers that have been meticulously installed at the proper intervals along the Canal. Don't be surprised if you can't find one. Not all of the markers are in place yet. Some will be installed as the floor repair work ends; several others were done in by heavy equipment and need to be replaced.
When dealing with a canal that is 58.9 miles long having good navigation tools is a real help.
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Welcome, New Friends Mike Kruimer Fred & Carole Mebus Anthony J. Salvati Bryce and Jane Sanders
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Help Wanted
Much of the work of the Friends gets done within the structure of five commitees.
- The Advocacy, Restoration and Maintenance Committee deals with the bricks and mortar projects, clean-ups, nudging, planning, etc.
- The Education and Recreation Committee delves into programs, signage, exhibits, etc.
- The Membership Committee builds the organization.
- The Organization/Development Committee sustains the organization through fundraising and volunteerism.
- The Finance Committee make sure that the bills get paid and the future of the organization is ensured.
The Board of Directors would very much like to have assistance, guidance, and insights from Friends' members. Please consider joining a committeee or helping out with specific tasks of interest to you. For more info, call 215-862-2021 or e-mail friends@fodc.org.
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