10. Protecting the Delaware River and Future Generations

Maya van Rossum is Executive Director of Delaware River Keepers whose mission is to champion the rights of our communities to the Delaware River and tributary streams that are free-flowing, clean, healthy, and abundant with a diversity of life.

The Delaware is the longest undammed river east of the Mississippi, flowing freely for 330 miles as it travels from New York state, through Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware to the Atlantic Ocean. The Delaware's 13,539 square mile watershed is only about four-tenths of one percent of the continental U.S. land area, but it supplies water to five percent of the nation's population --- over 15 million people. The lower end of the River and its Estuary host the world’s largest horseshoe crab population and an active commercial fishery, yet are marked by heavy industry and busy shipping traffic. The Delaware River Port Complex is the largest freshwater port in the world and is the largest for steel and paper in North America. The Port is the East Coast’s largest importer of cocoa beans and fruit and as much as seventy percent of the oil shipped to the Atlantic Coast moves through the Estuary. The Delaware River is a beautiful waterway that people from all around enjoy every day. From fishing to swimming, kayaking to paddleboarding - the Delaware River provides us with dozens of recreation opportunities.

The Delaware River Keepers also has an initiative called For The Generations which is a nationwide effort designed to help advance The Green Amendments which are constitutional rights to pure water, clean air and a healthy environment, understanding that only by advancing this call for protection throughout our four watershed states, across the nation and at the federal level will we be able to achieve the highest level of environmental protection we all need, deserve and are entitled to.

With Maya we discuss background on the Delaware River, species in it and the significance of the River, threats that are posed against it, what actions they’re taking, and her movement to pass Green Amendment laws in every state and then move to the federal level.

Contact and connect with Maya: [email protected]

Delaware River Keepers: https://www.delawareriverkeeper.org/

Green Amendment Book: https://delaware-riverkeeper-network-river-shop.myshopify.com/

For The Generations: A Movement to Pass the Green Amendment: https://forthegenerations.org/