Delaware River

Glen Foerd is located on a bluff at the confluence of the tidal Delaware River and the Poquessing Creek. The meeting place of the creek and river provides a rich habitat where birds, fish, reptiles, and mammals live. We often see ospreys, eagles, foxes, groundhogs, and other friendly neighbors here. Along the river and the creek, one can spot strips of vegetation called riparian buffers. These areas provide food and habitat to a diversity of species, as well as protect the river from pollution runoff, and erosion. The surrounding Delaware River Watershed was the land of the Lenni Lenape before European contact. This specific site was likely a prime location for native people to hunt and fish before new settlers came to the area. Before the 1900s, the Delaware River was particularly famous for its shad fish. These fish were both wild-caught and, by the 1800s, cultivated at fisheries. You may have visited the historic shad fishery at Pleasant Hill Park, just south of Glen Foerd. Shad fish and oysters were both plentiful here before pollution from industry and sewage diminished their populations. Despite years of change and pollution, the Delaware River remains the lifeblood not only for Philadelphia but for people and wildlife in five different states. The river provides drinking water to over 13 million people and is the longest river without dams on the East Coast, running 330 miles from the Catskill Mountains in New York down to the Delaware Bay.