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The Upper Delaware Council, Inc. (UDC) announces the hiring of Travis O’Dell of Long Eddy, NY as its Resource Specialist effective October 9.
O’Dell will provide the non-profit organization with technical support on land and resource management activities relevant to the Congressionally-designated Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River corridor.
The UDC conducted a three-month search process to fill the vacancy created by the Sept. 30 retirement of David B. Soete of Honesdale, PA after 23 years on the job.
O’Dell graduated from Roscoe Central School in 2003. He earned an Associate in Applied Science in Fishery and Wildlife Technology in 2005 and a Bachelor’s of Technology degree in Wildlife Management in 2007, both from the State University of New York at Cobleskill.
The 27-year-old had been self-employed as a carpenter while seeking a local position in the conservation field.
He previously held internships or was seasonally employed by: the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as a park ranger at Mongaup Pond and camp counselor at Camp DeBruce; by Wetland Studies and Solutions of Chantilly, VA; the New York State Power Authority in Gilboa, Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory in Fort Collins, CO, and HDR Inc. of Nanuet, NY in various technician roles; and by Upper Delaware Campgrounds in Callicoon as a canoe wrangler.
“I always have been and always will be a citizen of the Upper Delaware Watershed. It is an area I am familiar with and passionate about. I believe in and share the goals of the River Management Plan for protecting the river and landowners’ rights,” O’Dell says.
Since 2010, O’Dell has lived on a 100-acre property that was the home of his late grandparents Edward and Zelda Milk, on a road named after his great-grandfather Arlyn Milk, located in the settlement of Goulds in the Town of Hancock.
He is the son of Victoria O’Dell of Roscoe, and Richard and stepmother Patricia O’Dell of Damascus, PA.
Travis recently celebrated one year of marriage with his wife Kayla, who is employed by the Northeast Parent and Child Society as a foster care child advocate based in Oneonta. The couple welcomed a baby daughter, Lilyana, on July 26, 2012.
O’Dell is a hobby farmer, raising Icelandic sheep, pastured pigs, and free-range chickens with a commitment toward sustainable agricultural practices. He enjoys fishing, hunting, kayaking, and hiking, and is a member of the Basket Historical Society of the Upper Delaware Valley.
The Upper Delaware Council was established in 1988 as the oversight body responsible for coordinating implementation of the River Management Plan for the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River.
Its voting members are the eight New York towns and five of the seven Pennsylvania townships that border along the 73.4-mile-long designated river section, along with the State of New York and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, who appoint representatives to a governing board. The Delaware River Basin Commission is a non-voting member. The UDC operates under a long-term Cooperative Agreement with its partners at the National Park Service and employs three full-time staff.
For more information, please contact the UDC at P.O. Box 192, 211 Bridge St., Narrowsburg, NY
12764; (845) 252-3022; or www.upperdelawarecouncil.org
