Ten Mile River Access to be purchased by National Park Service

NARROWSBURG — The National Park Service (NPS) hopes to purchase the Ten Mile River access point if the U.S. Congress approves their $200,000 acquisition bid for fiscal year 2022.

The river access property in the Town of Tusten is owned by the Greater NY Council, Boy Scouts of America, however the NPS Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River has a long-term co-management agreement in which staffed information kiosks and amenities such as portable toilets are provided by the NPS between Memorial Day and Labor Day. This lease was renewed every five years. Recent negotiations were completed on July 6th for a retroactive one-year term ending March 31st 2022.

“This proposed purchase is a part of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which was fully funded through enactment of the Great American Outdoors Act, and does not use any taxpayer dollars. A small portion of revenues from offshore oil and gas royalty payments funds it,” said Executive Director of the Upper Delaware Council, Laurie Ramie.

Ten Mile River is a tributary of the Delaware River, making the access point a popular spot amongst boaters. Although the riverside bank is a simple “carry on, carry off” slope, traffic has increased over the past several years, by both locals and tourists exploring the area.

“It’s one of the most popular spots on the river because it is a good stopping point for boaters as well as people who want to enjoy the recreational land activities such as seeing the historic Stone Arch Bridge or hiking the Tusten Mountain Trail,” added Ramie.

The NPS received approval of their land acquisition in 2019 for the fiscal year of 2022. It is currently in a queue for full purchase approval by Congress by the end of September. The NPS hopes to receive a maintenance budget that would allow them to improve the access point beyond the current boat launch.

“This acquisition stretches over 20 acres, from the access point of Ten Mile River to Highway 97 in a large rectangle,” said Cody Hendrix, the Community and Land Use Planner for the NPS. “This purchase approval would allow us to implement our own staff and maintain the river access point year around.”

The acquisition proposal is a part of a large collection of requests that will be put before Congress as a result of the Great American Outdoors Act. After being drastically underfunded in recent decades, this Act will allow for park services, including those at Ten Mile River, to implement proper staffing as well as put in requests for necessary upgrades.

“Hopefully, we will receive this approval sooner rather than later,” said Hendrix. “We will then receive a land assessment from the Regional Land Resources Office in Boston that will approve our plans to better this access point.”

The entire Ten Mile River Boy Scout Camp encompasses 12,000 acres within Sullivan County.