For Immediate Release

May 31, 2018

(West Trenton, N.J.) -- The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) today announced that Janice Annunziata’s photograph, titled Red Spotted Newt, was chosen as the winner of the commission’s Spring 2018 Photo Contest. Twenty-two photographs were submitted by 15 individuals for the contest.

"Each photograph submitted to DRBC’s Spring Photo Contest highlighted not only the renewal and beauty of the basin’s water resources in spring, but also the variety of life – from plants to animals to humans – that depend on them," said DRBC Executive Director Steve Tambini. "We thank everyone who entered the contest. While there were many exceptional entries to choose from, Janice’s photo stood out amongst the other entries for its focus on a creature native to the basin whose awakening from hibernation and migration to vernal pools to reproduce is one of the early signs that the spring season has finally arrived."

The winning image was chosen by a judging panel of three DRBC staff members and will be featured on the commission’s website at www.nj.gov/drbc/basin/photo/photo-contest.html and on DRBC’s Twitter and Flickr social media sites. The photo will also be published in the commission’s 2018 annual report, and the winner will receive a certificate of recognition.

The purpose of DRBC’s seasonal photo contest is to highlight amateur and professional photography representing the beauty, diversity, function, and significance of the water resources of the Delaware River Basin, a 13,539-square mile watershed. In legislation signed into law in December 2016, the U.S. Congress declared that "the Delaware River Basin is a national treasure of great cultural, environmental, ecological, and economic importance." Approximately 15 million people (or about five percent of the nation's population) rely on the water resources of the Delaware River Basin to support a variety of significant uses including public drinking water, industry, agriculture, power generation, recreation, fisheries, and aquatic life.

The Summer Photo Contest will begin on June 25 and has a deadline of August 1, 2018. Complete contest details, including instructions on how to submit photographs, are available on DRBC’s website at the above link.

The DRBC is a federal/interstate government agency responsible for managing the water resources within the Delaware River Basin without regard to political boundaries. The five commission members are the governors of the basin states (Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania) and the commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ North Atlantic Division, who represents the federal government.

To learn more about the commission, please visit www.drbc.net or follow DRBC on Twitter at @DRBC1961.

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Contacts: Kate Schmidt, Kate.Schmidt@drbc.nj.gov, (609) 883-9500 ext. 205
Peter Eschbach, Peter.Eschbach@drbc.nj.gov, (609) 883-9500 ext. 208

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Winning Image: Red Spotted Newt by Janice Annunziata