Our Meet & Greet with Senator Metzger

Together with our Delaware River Watershed partners, we recently held a Meet & Greet featuring State Senator Jen Metzger in Roscoe, NY. 

Area community members heard from Senator Metzger about water and land conservation issues and ongoing efforts to protect the Upper Delaware River Watershed. She answered questions from partners about the value of clean water for local businesses, the need for more state resources for the Upper Delaware River south of the NYC drinking water reservoirs, opportunities to make our agricultural sector climate-smart, and the importance of protecting the region’s forests and open spaces. The event was held at Roscoe Beer Company to symbolize the important connection between clean water and the local economy, particularly the tourism and craft beverage industries. 

The Delaware River Watershed provides drinking water to millions of New York City residents, and more than 1 million New Yorkers in Westchester, Orange, Putnam, Sullivan, and Ulster counties. The watershed is responsible for 600,000 jobs and $22 billion in annual economic activity, including a vibrant tourism industry, outdoor recreational opportunities, and a well-known wild trout fishery. 

This event is part of our ongoing work with the Delaware River Watershed Initiative (DRWI), a multi-year conservation project funded generously by the William Penn Foundation. To learn more about the DRWI, check out www.4states1source.com. As part of the DRWI, we work with groups in the New York part of the watershed to elevate the importance of watershed protection for New Yorkers and decision-makers in the region. We support local, state, and federal policies that address conservation funding, plastic pollution, land preservation, and more through educational events and civic engagement opportunities. 

This is the second event we have held to educate New Yorkers about where elected officials and candidates for office stand on environmental issues. In 2018, we hosted a nonpartisan candidate forum for NY’s 19th Congressional District in Callicoon between former Congressman John Faso and current Congressman Antonio Delgado. Recognizing that voters do not often hear directly from elected officials and candidates for office about climate change and other important sustainability issues, our candidate forums aim to fill this gap and arm voters with the tools needed to hold elected officials accountable. The Meet & Greet built on this work by introducing partners and their membership to Senator Metzger, who recently joined the State Senate. The event also provided the setting for partners to showcase their work and for community members to hear from environmental leaders in their region. 

We thank our partners for helping to make the Meet & Greet a success, including Catskill Mountainkeeper, Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed, Delaware Highlands Conservancy, Friends of the Upper Delaware River and Orange County Land Trust.