The Rivers And Their Ecology

Protected Species - The Delaware River and all its rivers are home to several federally protected species. The Upper Delaware/Catskill region hosts over 150 bald eagles every winter from January to March. They migrate to this region from Canada and other points north for the open water and fresh fish available here. In the spring, most migrant eagles return to their nests and breeding habitats. But in recent years more eagle pairs have made this region their permanent home, often using the same nest year after year. Recent data suggests there are over 60 eagle nests each in NY and PA (and growing each year).

The Neversink River and the main stem of the Delaware River were recently recognized as harboring some of the last healthy populations of the federally endangered dwarf-wedge mussel. The dwarf wedge mussel is a small freshwater mussel that rarely exceeds 1.5 inches (38 mm) in length. It is brown or yellowish-brown in color. Adult mussels are filter-feeders, feeding on algae and other small suspended particles. They spend most of their time buried almost completely in the bottom of streams and rivers and demand high water quality and the free movement of fish to disperse its offspring.

While not federally protected now, there is significant discussion about listing the American Eel, as populations of this strange and highly sought-after fish have plummeted across the continent. Eels are catadromous, that is they are born in the Sargasso Sea, and migrate up into the Delaware River's countless tributaries where they live for up to 20 years before migrating back to the ocean by night each fall. The Delaware River historically supported a number of commercial eel weirs, but that industry has almost vanished.

Main Stem | West Branch | East Branch | Neversink | Protected Species