http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wi...0705jul05,0,36
8197.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire
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Anglers, small town businesses fight Big Apple over trout waters

By MICHAEL GORMLEY
Associated Press Writer

July 5, 2004, 12:44 PM EDT


Fishing was good in the early spring where an elbow of the upper Delaware
River in the Catskills jabs Pennsylvania. Seventeen to 20-inch wild brown
trout were pulled out of the winding, chilly waters, twice the size of a
good catch in most streams.

But those who know well that stretch of prime trout water knew it would be
short-lived.

Local business operators and anglers in and around Hancock, in Delaware
County, N.Y., blame a three-year experimental state program started in May.

The program reduced the flow of the river's West Branch, one of the best
trout fisheries in North America and a key drinking source for 9 million New
York City residents. The lower flow _ accomplished by releasing less water
from dams upstream _ means higher temperatures, which the sensitive trout
hate. The water could warm to more than 73 degrees before the state would
trigger a reserve flow from a reservoir to cool the branch, New York City
officials said.

"We had a wonderful spring," said Al Caucci, a flyfishing outfitter in
Starlight, Pa. "Now they've practically dried it up and we've been living
like that for 20 years ... the potential for this river is three times the
amount of bugs and fish and we'll never reach that because we have these
mini fish kills each year because of what they do."

After more than 20 years of pleading at public hearings, the locals are
taking on Congress, the states of Pennsylvania and New York, and New York
City. Letters outlining their counterproposal to increase cold water flow in
the West Branch will be mailed this week to members of Congress and the
states' legislatures. The letter includes a strongly worded explanation of
the jobs, economic benefit and by extension, votes that hang in the balance.

"Yeah, we're a thorn in everybody's side and that's what we want to be,"
said Caucci, one of the volunteers in Friends of the Upper Delaware River
taking on the battle. "We want to make this fishery the best it can be. It
could be in the top three or four in the whole country, in your back yard.
Isn't that something? I don't understand it."

The main concern of state and city officials is the 9 million New York City
residents, especially in times of drought.

New York City would get plenty of water because the flow of the East Branch
and Neversink River would be increased by dams into the Delaware River. That
would even the flow through all three branches, assuring the water supply to
New York City.

Further complicating the issue, however, is the needs of industry. The
Pennsylvania Power and Light Corp. based in Allentown, Pa., plans to release
large volumes of water to generate electricity _ but from a dam downstream
from the West Branch.

New York City could use that flow to meet a 1954 U.S. Supreme Court order
mandating adequate flows for drinking supplies to Trenton, N.J., and
Philadelphia without having to release more water from its reservoir that
normally provides greater flow of cool water to the West Branch.

"From a big-picture standpoint, this plan will make things a lot better
during a drought," said PPL spokesman Paul Wirth.

"New York City likes to beef a lot," Caucci said. "But they have the whole
Hudson River running right in front of them and they don't use it, so they
like to come up to the Catskills and rape all the rivers."

The government plan and action were the result of an extensive New York
state environmental study done in the 1980s, said Michael Principe, New York
City's deputy commissioner of the Bureau of Water Supply. It sought to
balance drinking water needs and fishing interests.

New York state Department of Environmental Conservation officials contend
that fishing will _ over the long haul _ improve even in the West Branch
under the three-year pilot program. That's because under the previous
system, an especially dry summer common every three or four years could wipe
out gains in fish population. The pilot program that takes more control of
flows avoids the frequent damage by droughts, said the department's
spokeswoman, Maureen Wren.

"We tried to be as flexible as possible," Principe said. "There really isn't
enough water available to set up an optimal condition for trout fishing ...
the goal is not to have optimum conditions. Otherwise there wouldn't be
enough water."

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On the Net:

Friends of the Upper Delaware River http://www.fudr.org