Camp FIMFO

The Camp FIMFO Final Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS), available on the Town of Highland Website, has been prepared by Northgate on behalf of the Planning Board. At this time, the Planning Board is holding workshop sessions to review the responses to substantive comments in the Final EIS, which they will either choose to adopt OR modify. These workshop sessions are open to the public to attend, but no public comment is permitted (see dates for workshops on the Town of Highland calendar). It is anticipated that the review will continue through August. Delaware Riverkeeper Network hosts recap webinars of each FEIS workshop session, which are available for viewing on our No Camp FIMFO Action Platform. Sign up today at this link, and simply navigate to the ‘Events’ tab to find all of our recorded videos.

Some responses have been flagged by the Planning Board to be reviewed by the Town’s attorney and engineer outside of the workshop sessions. The Town’s attorney and engineer will present their list of adopted and/or modified responses to the Planning Board for approval. Upon approval, the Planning Board will pass a resolution stating that the Final EIS is complete and issue a Notice of Completion.

Involved agencies (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New York State Department of Health, New York State Department of Transportation, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historical Resources, and Sullivan County Department of Planning & Development) will then issue a positive or negative findings statement no sooner than 10 days after the Notice of Completion. A positive findings statement means that the project is approvable, where a negative findings statement means that the project is not approvable. Within 30 days of the filing of the Notice of Completion, the Planning Board (as the lead agency) will issue their own findings statement. 

If one agency issues a negative finding, even if all other agencies issue positive findings, the project cannot move forward unless the conflict is resolved. If agencies are in agreement and all issue positive findings, then the Planning Board could make a decision to approve the Camp FIMFO application.

Until the Planning Board deems the Final EIS complete, the timeline for agency findings statements cannot be determined.

For a full recap of the Camp FIMFO application process, refer to the timeline below.

“Say NO to Camp FIMFO” lawn signs are available.

As everyone is well aware we need to continue to scream from the rooftops our opposition to Camp FIMFO. Yard signs put on public display to the Town of Highland Planning Board and Northgate Resorts that we are saying NO to Camp FIMFO. Additionally, this will help us spread the word to those who may not yet know about Camp FIMFO and help us raise broader public awareness.

A community member has generously offered to help serve as a pickup point for those interested in getting a yard sign. We ask that you join our No Camp FIMFO – Protect Our River Action Platform where we will be sharing the information on how you can get in touch to get a yard sign. This platform is a secure social media space so we can keep this information from opposition. By clicking the link you will be taken to a page where you can create an account. The bonus of joining this action platform as well is it is a closed community with our allies against Camp FIMFO where we will be able to quickly and easily share information and action items with you. 

We Need Your Support

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

Background

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 campsites to RV sites, cabins, and glamping structures with water, sewage, and/or electric hook ups; adding water slides, multiple pools, mini golf, more parking, more septic systems, propane distribution and utility lines, as well as demolishing some of the existing buildings and adding new infrastructure. 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 clear information or transparency about project details. And if Northgate gets its way, we will be seeing more large scale theme-park-like operations invading our Upper Delaware region and amplifying the harm.

Northgate’s proposal is in the federally protected Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River Corridor. The National Park Service helps protect the River by reviewing many proposals in the Corridor to ensure they conform with the values in the River Management Plan (RMP) and Land and Water Use Guidelines (LWUG). After careful review, on May 25, 2023, the National Park Service issued a letter stating its determination that the project fails to conform with the RMP and LWUG for the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River. You can read about it in the River Reporter here.

The National Park Service complemented its letter with a detailed Significant Project Substantial Conformance Review issued June 26, 2023 . In response, Northgate sent a highly inappropriate letter to the Town of Highland Planning Board. To which Delaware Riverkeeper Network submitted its own response.

The timeline of past events has been:

• May 25, 2023 – National Park Service issued a letter stating it determined that the proposed Camp FIMFO project fails to conform with the RMP and LWUG. You can read about it in the River Reporter here. 
• June 26, 2023 – National Park Service issued its full report detailing its substantial conformance review and its reasoning for finding the proposed project is nonconforming with the RMP and LWUG.
• August 16, 2023 – In response to NPS’s finding of nonconformance, Northgate sent a highly inappropriate letter to the Planning Board. 
• September 1, 2023 – Delaware Riverkeeper Network sent its response to Northgate’s inappropriate letter to the Planning Board.  
• September 14, 2023 – Delaware Riverkeeper Network held an informational meeting with residents in the Upper Delaware River region to discuss the proposed Camp FIMFO site changes.
• September 26, 2023 – Delaware Riverkeeper Network secured the expert analysis of an urban planner with 30 years of experience. The findings were clear: The Town of Highland Planning Board must require a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), anything short would be a violation of state law and a betrayal of the public trust.
• September 27, 2023 – Town of Highland Planning Board voted 3-2 in favor of conducting an Environmental Impact Statement for the project.
• October 25, 2023 – Town of Highland Planning Board voted in favor of the proposed Scoping document for a full EIS initiating the public comment period from Nov. 3 to Nov. 22.
• October 27, 2023 – Delaware Riverkeeper Network sent the Planning Board a letter stating the public comment period was not enough time while also occurring in the middle of the holiday season. 
• November 9, 2023 – Delaware Riverkeeper Network submitted its comment on the draft Scoping document identifying several important areas for the draft EIS to address.
• November 18, 2023 – Delaware Riverkeeper Network submitted a supplemental comment in support of all the issues identified by community members and highlighting several concerns raised by the National Park Service.
• November 21, 2023 – Delaware Riverkeeper Network submitted a supplemental comment explaining the importance of considering all submitted comments in its decision making process.
• December 20, 2023 – Town of Highland Planning Board approved the Final Scoping document for the Camp FIMFO draft EIS.
• June 12, 2024 – Camp FIMFO submitted its first draft of the EIS. 
• July 24, 2024 – Town of Highland Planning Board, Upper Delaware Council, and the National Park Service issued comments necessitating revision of the draft EIS. 
• August 28, 2024 – Camp FIMFO submitted its second draft of the EIS. 
• September 25, 2024 – Town of Highland, Upper Delaware Council, and the National Park Service issued comments necessitating further revision of the draft EIS.
• October 23, 2024 – Camp FIMFO submitted its third draft of the EIS. 
• November 20, 2024 – Town of Highland adopted the third draft of the EIS as adequate for public comment and set the deadline for public comment as January 10. 
• December 18, 2024 – Town of Highland Planning Board held the only public hearing on the Camp FIMFO draft EIS.
• January 8, 2025 – Delaware Riverkeeper Network notified the Planning Board of the inadequacy and errors in the public hearing transcript.
• January 10, 2025 – The original end date for the draft EIS comment period. Delaware Riverkeeper Network submitted its first comment on the draft EIS detailing many flaws and inadequacies in the draft EIS.
• January 22, 2025 – Town of Highland Planning Board decided to extend the public comment period until March 11 citing legal inadequacies.
• March 11, 2025 – The extension of the original comment period ended. Delaware Riverkeeper Network submitted its supplemental comment on the draft EIS identifying additional flaws and inadequacies. 
• May 28, 2025 – Northgate submitted a proposed final EIS for the Planning Board to review. 
• June 11, 2025 – First Planning Board Workshop reviewing the final EIS submission. The Planning Board reviewed sections 1, 2, and 4.1-4.3 of the final EIS. 
• June 18, 2025 – Delaware Riverkeeper Network hosted a webinar to update the public on the first Planning Board workshop.
• June 25, 2025 – Second Planning Board Workshop reviewing sections 4.4 – 4.5 of the final EIS.
• July 2, 2025 – Delaware Riverkeeper Network hosted a webinar to update the public on the second Planning Board workshop.
• July 9, 2025 – Third Planning Board Workshop reviewing sections 4.6 – 4.10 of the final EIS.
• July 16, 2025 – Delaware Riverkeeper Network hosted a webinar to update the public on the third Planning Board Workshop.
• July 23, 2025 – Fourth Planning Board Workshop reviewing sections 4.11 – 4.15 of the final EIS.
• July 31, 2025 – Delaware Riverkeeper Network to host a webinar to update the public on the fourth Planning Board Workshop.
• August 13, 2025 – Fifth Planning Board Workshop reviewing sections 4.16 – 4.21 and Appendices F & J of the final EIS.
• August 27, 2025 – Tentative: Sixth Planning Board Workshop to review any remaining sections of the final EIS.

Key Facts About the Camp FIMFO Proposal 

• The campground is ~223 acres and has many areas of wooded steep slopes and fronts along the Delaware River.
• Beaver Brook, a stocked trout stream, flows through the central portion of the site. In addition to the Delaware River and Beaver Brook, there are 7 wetlands and 6 streams within the campground.
• The campground is home to many species, including endangered and threatened species such as the Bald Eagle, Orchid-of-the-Waterfall, and Dwarf Wedgemussel. 
• Much of the project site is located within the 100-year and 500-year floodplains.
• Camp FIMFO has multiple locations, including two in Texas, that show the large size and magnitude of these projects.
• Of the 342 campsites that exist currently, only 56 will remain tent campsites. The rest will be turned into sites for RVs that include water, sewer, and electrical hookups, permanent cabins, or sites with constructed glamping pods or safari type tents. 
• The proposed project would transform a great portion of the campground to pavement, resulting in roughly 7 new acres of impervious surface.
• Camp FIMFO anticipates an increase in visitors, which would be three times the number of visitors the current campground has each season. 
• Holding tanks from an old landfill—the Barnes Landfill—has leaked tens and thousands of gallons of leachate to surrounding streams. Community members have documented leachate overflow from the landfill: see the video here. 
• The proposed project would alter 41.5 acres of land with earth disturbance activities and clear nearly 15 acres of trees. 

Check out videos of important Camp FIMFO meetings and information sessions below:

More videos, including webinars on the Camp FIMFO Draft EIS, Planning Board FEIS workshops, and SEQR process, are available on our No Camp FIMFO Action Platform. Sign up today at this link, and simply navigate to the ‘Events’ tab to find all of our recorded videos.