This episode of Nonprofit Report features Delaware Riverkeeper Network and its work on safeguarding the Delaware River and its extensive watershed.
Guests:
Maya Van Rossum, Delaware Riverkeeper of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network
Interview by: Mark Oppenheim
Key Points:
- The Delaware River Watershed spans four states and provides clean drinking water to over 13 million people, including the cities of New York and Philadelphia.
- The Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund (DWCF) was created in 2018 as a public-private partnership between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NFWF. It has awarded 192 grants totaling $40 million, matched by $59 million in local investment.
- The fund prioritizes clean water, habitat conservation, recreation, and flood mitigation—with green stormwater infrastructure playing a key role.
- Projects include urban green schoolyards, stream and floodplain restoration, and nature-based solutions that improve both environmental and community health.
- Community-based organizations are central to the fund’s impact, supported through partnerships with groups like the William Penn Foundation and the Delaware River Watershed Initiative.
Other Points on Delaware Riverkeeper Network:
Maya van Rossum advocates for rights-based environmentalism. By making clean air, clean water, and a healthy environment a constitutional right, marginalized and frontline communities gain legal standing to push back against environmental harm.
DRN’s work underscores the importance of science, community voices, and legal strategy to level the playing field in a system often dominated by industry and political influence. Whether fighting against fracking or advocating for clean energy solutions, the organization insists on solutions that are environmentally sound and equitably beneficial.
The Green Amendment has already been adopted in three states—Pennsylvania, Montana, and New York—and efforts are underway in others. Van Rossum envisions a future where every American, regardless of income, race, or geography, has a legally protected right to environmental health.
Protecting nature is not only about the environment, it’s about justice, health, and our collective future.