Lissa Harris reports in The Watershed Post that one of outgoing Congressman Chris Gibson (R-Kinderhook) last acts in office was celebrating the passage of the Delaware River Basin Conservation Act. President Barack Obama signed the bill Dec. 16 that Gibson co-sponsored, establishing a grant program for river protection throughout the watershed. On Dec. 22 at the headquarters of Friends of the Upper Delaware River in Hancock Gibson said, “This is a big win.... This program is non-regulatory. The soul of this bill is going to depend on partnerships and coalitions. Folks in local government — rest assured, you will have your say.” Hancock town supervisor Sam Rowe credited non-gerrymandered redistricting with helping pass the bill. A panel of judges, rather than politicians, drew the new districts more on geographic terms. “It helps tremendously to have one Congressman for the whole watershed,” Rowe said. And Gibson said, “I think it’s a good example of why we should have independent redistricting across the country." Read the full story in The Watershed Post.