In the Town of Highland, Sullivan County, New York, Northgate Resorts is proposing to overhaul the former Kittatinny Campground with an operation they call Camp FIMFO.  The proposal would transform most of the existing low impact tent camp sites to RV sites, cabins or glamping structures with water, sewage and/or electric hook ups; adding a mountain roller coaster, water slides, a swimming pool, mini golf, more parking, more septic systems, as well as replacing some of the old existing buildings with new.

According to one official on the Upper Delaware Council, this is the largest development project ever to come to the region.

Overall, the true scale and impacts of the project are being masked by a lack of information with differing detals dribbling out over time.  It also seems clear that if Northgate gets to have its way, we will be seeing more theme-park-like operations of this kind invading our Upper Delaware region and magnifying the harm.

After careful review, on May 25, 2023, the National Park Service issued a letter stating its determination that the project fails to conform with Land and Water Use Guidelines (LWUG) for the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River.  You can read about it in the River Reporter here: https://riverreporter.com/stories/nps-rejects-fimfo,99920

The National Park Service has complimented its letter and public presentation regarding its review of Camp FIMFO with a detailed  Significant Project Substantial Conformance Review issued June 26, 2023 (available here).  In response, Northgate-FIMFO sent a highly inappropriate letter to the Town of Highland Planning Board.    To which the Delaware Riverkeeper Network has submitted its own response, available here.

On September 14 the Delaware Riverkeeper Network held an informational meeting with residents in the Upper Delaware River region to discuss the proposed Camp FIMFO site changes.

 

On September 27th, the Town of Highland Planning Board held a meeting and voted 3-2 in favor of conducting an Environmental Impact Statement for the project.

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network has secured the expert analysis of an urban planner with 30 years of experience.  The findings are clear, the Town of Highland Planning Board needs to require a full Environmental Impact Statement, anything short is a violation of state law and a betrayal of the public trust.  

 

We need your support for the experts, lawyers and advocacy essential for protecting our River from FIMFO. 
Please donate what you can today.

 

 

Holding tanks from an old landfill - the Barnes Landfill, has been discovered to have leaked tens and thousands of gallons of leachate to surrounding streams:

Some basic facts:

The site is ~223 acres and has many areas of wooded steep slopes and fronts along the Delaware River.

The Beaver Brook flows through the central portion of the site.

Much of the project site is located within the 100-year and 500-year floodplains.

Of the 342 campsites that exist currently, only 56 will remain tent campsites.  The rest will be turned into sites for RVs including with water and sewer hookups, permanent cabins, or sites with constructed glamping pods or safari type tents. 

Delaware Riverkeeper Network is working with the community fully assess and question what is being proposed.

News:

River Reporter, NPS Rejects FIMFO
River Reporter, Camp FIMFO Q&A
River Reporter, Creating Camp FIMFO
River Reporter, FIMFO and the Environment
River Reporter, Corralling Camp FIMFO

 

To stay up to date and get full engaged be sure to bookmark the community website:  https://www.knowfimfo.com