by Elizabeth Ahearn, Atlantic Chapter Conservation Staff
The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area consists of 70,000 acres of forest, mountains, and a forty mile stretch of the Delaware River. The area is located along the middle section of the Delaware River in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, spanning from the Delaware Water Gap northward in New Jersey to the state line near Port Jervis, New York and to the outskirts of Milford, Pennsylvania.
It is one of the most popular outdoor destinations in the country, with more than 4.5 million visitors annually. For comparison, roughly the same amount of visitors flock to Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks each year. The recreation area features over 100 miles of hiking trails, swim beaches, and waterfall sites, all of which help attract visitors.
With the plan to build the Tocks Island Dam in the 1960s, buildings within the region were acquired by the Army Corps of Engineers through the use of eminent domain. After the federal government abandoned the dam project years later, the land was transferred to the National Park Service in 1978. At the time, the recreation area did not fit into the standard mold of a “National Park.” Unlike the many undeveloped wilderness areas in the West that were easy to acquire because they were controlled by the federal government, the land in the Water Gap region had already been divided up by private ownership, making expansion more challenging. The Delaware Water Gap was classified as a “National Recreation Area” because it was in close proximity to bodies of water where recreational activities such as swimming, boating, and fishing could take place. In contrast, the sixty-three parks designated as “National Parks” are characterized by large land areas that also offer recreational opportunities, along with the addition of a focus on preservation of natural and cultural resources.
In recent years, there has been a push to elevate the Delaware Water Gap from “Recreation Area” to “National Park and Preserve” status for a multitude of reasons. Changing the status of the Delaware Water Gap would grant millions of people living in major urban metropolitan areas access to a National Park for the first time. Advocates argue that this is an environmental and social justice issue, and that the introduction of a new national park would create more equity for people living in underserved and underrepresented urban areas nearby. Of the sixty-three total National Parks in the United States, only nine are east of the Mississippi River, and there are zero National Parks located between Acadia (in Maine) and Shenandoah (in Virginia). Between New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, over 60 million people live within a three-hour drive of the Delaware Water Gap region. The recreation area is an hour-and-a-half drive from New York City and two hours from Philadelphia.
The Delaware Water Gap, which sees the same number of annual visitors as Yellowstone and Yosemite, receives far less in annual appropriations, due to its status as a recreation area. Yellowstone National Park’s annual budget is $27.6 million, while The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area has a much smaller budget of $8.2 million.[1] Making the transition to National Park would enable the park to compete more successfully for appropriated funds, as it would be one of only a couple National Parks in the Northeast Region. Being granted National Park status would also make the Water Gap eligible to receive funding for infrastructure upgrades and improvements through the federal Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill.
One major reason advocates wish to see the change to “National Park and Preserve” is to ensure that the park is recognized for its incredible natural & cultural resources. Between the Appalachian Trail weaving through over 20 miles of the area, the impressive Kittatinny Ridge, 12,000 years of human occupation in the homeland of the Lenape people, and 400,000 acres of conserved public lands, the region is remarkably unique and worthy of greater recognition. Renaming the park the “Delaware River National Park & Lenape Preserve” would honor and restore recognition of the sacred homeland of the Lenape people.
The recreation area currently allows for fishing and hunting activities. A switch to the designation of National Park & Preserve would not eliminate these traditional uses of the land, and many argue that it would result in an improved system of balancing hunting and fishing with conservation. It would establish a permanent nursery for wildlife that would simultaneously foster conservation efforts and enhance the quality of hunting and fishing in the surrounding Preserve. The “National Preserve” designation would enshrine hunting rights in a way the “Recreation Area” has not been able to do so.
The Delaware Water Gap already meets the criteria to become a national park, and it has been a “unit” of the National Park Service for over 55 years.[2] Many groups have presented proposals to elected officials, Indigenous leaders, business owners, and local residents to garner and expand support on this effort. The next step is to bolster support in the U.S. House and Senate, as the designation requires Congressional approval. This successfully happened in December 2020, when the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve was created in West Virginia, to become America’s 63rd national park. Initially, the issue of hunting was a concern, so a portion of the park was designated as a national preserve to permit hunting. Supporters cite New River Gorge National Park and Preserve as a template for success, and hope the Delaware Water Gap will follow suit, and eventually be known as the Delaware River National Park and Lenape Preserve.
See a full hiking map of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area here.
Notes:
[1] https://www.nps.gov/dewa/learn/management/statistics.htm
[2] http://npshistory.com/brochures/criteria-parklands-2005.pdf