Everyone is welcome to read and participate in the discussions here, both members and non-members. To get started, either log in, or if this is your first time here, go ahead and Register.
Last night at our board meeting, we had a brief discussion about the Brandywine River and its dam system. I offered to get more info. While i haven't yet contacted any of my colleagues at DNREC, I did find that the Brandyine Conservancy has been leading the charge for dam removal for the purpose of restoring shad runs. It may be a great opportunity to partner with them, and bring in other recreational enthusiasts. The entire project is extremely expensive and will take a long time, but we should consider signing on with the Brandywine conservancy as a partner and getting them thinking about the benefits to recreation, as well as to fish.
Basic info can be found here: http://www.brandywineconservancy.org/shad-passage.html
Download their 2005 assessment (i will read this soon) - it contains info about the condition of each dam on the lower brandywine: http://www.brandywineconservancy.org/images/pdf/brandywineShadReport2005.pdf
Susan - i had a conversation with Paul Nicholson at DNREC in the fall about exporing the opportunity of a whitewater park on a section of the Brandywine thru a combination of some dam removal and whitewater park construcution. He mentioned that he recently visited a whitewater park in Colorado at a confernce he attended. He seemed intrigued by the concept and was going to talk to some others at DNREC but I have not had the opportunity to follow-up with him. By the way, there has been a lot of synergy with fisherman in the development of other whitewater parks. I think talking with Brandywine Conservancy would be a great idea.
Members,
I have a speaker from the Brandywine Conservancy that is interested in attending one of our meetings to inform us of the status of the Dams on the Brandywine River. Please respond if you would like for me to invite him to our board meeting. Remember our board meetings are open to all members of the Wilmington Trail Club.
Michael
I think we would be interested in talking to this Guy. I know I would.
Maybe we could schedule a special meeting just for that purpose. We might get better attendance than at a board meeting.
We might even want to publisize it and get people from outside.
Ed
Ed,
That sounds like a good idea. Maybe we should brainstrom at the next meeting with everyone and move on from there.
i agree that a seperate meeting would be a good idea. I also think it would be a good idea to get together ahead of time so that we can discuss what our position/objectives would be in partnering with them. I have some interesting information I have compiled on the benefits of whitewater parks that I can share with the group