The Upper Delaware protects 73.4 miles of the Delaware River between Hancock and Sparrowbush, New York, forming the state border with Pennsylvania through Sullivan, Orange, Delaware, Pike, and Wayne counties. It was designated a National Scenic and Recreational River in 1978 and is one of the longest remaining free-flowing rivers in the Northeast. Federal land ownership is almost nonexistent - about 30 acres out of the entire corridor - which makes the Upper Delaware one of the most purely cooperative units in the National Park System. The river and shore are managed through partnership with adjacent private landowners, municipalities, and the states, coordinated by the Upper Delaware Council. More than 14,000 acres in the watershed are additionally protected by conservation easements held by the Delaware Highlands Conservancy. Two distinct fisheries share the corridor. Cold tailwaters released from the New York City-managed Cannonsville and Pepacton reservoirs on the East and West branches keep the upper end cold enough year-round to support wild rainbow and brown trout - an unusual condition for a river this far south and this far from mountains, and one that makes this stretch a nationally recognized trout destination. Below Callicoon the river warms into smallmouth bass water and also carries American shad during spring runs and walleye year-round. A reciprocal NY-PA license agreement means a fishing license from either state covers either bank. The Upper Delaware hosts the largest wintering bald eagle population in the Northeast, concentrated from December through March where open water stays available below the reservoirs. An accessible eagle observation blind sits along NY Route 97 east of Pond Eddy. The corridor also preserves significant early-industrial history. Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct, built by John A. Roebling in 1847-1848 to carry the Delaware and Hudson Canal over the river at Lackawaxen, is the oldest surviving wire-cable suspension bridge in the United States and predates Roebling's Brooklyn Bridge by more than three decades; it now functions as a single-lane vehicle bridge and National Historic Landmark. Remnants of the D&H Canal itself, which operated from 1828 to 1898 hauling anthracite coal to the Hudson, appear along the corridor. The Zane Grey Museum at Lackawaxen preserves the home where the "father of the Western novel" wrote many of his books. Paddling is Class I-II, well-suited to canoes, kayaks, rafts, and tubes, with multiple public access points on both banks. Scenic NY Route 97 parallels much of the corridor, including the Hawk's Nest overlooks above Port Jervis - a famous set of cliffside switchbacks looking down onto the river. Headquarters is at 274 River Road in Beach Lake, PA.