Controversy Erupts Over Proposal For PA's First National Park

PENNSYLVANIA — Local residents are pushing back hard against a proposal to bring a National Park designation to one of Pennsylvania's greatest treasures.

The Delaware Water Gap, a mountainous region which straddles the border of Pennsylvania and New Jersey above the Stroudsbrug area and is riddled with hundreds of miles of trails, islands, waterfalls, caves, and more, is not actually a National Park. It's a National Recreation Area. And with that comes fewer protections than the coveted "NPS" designation.

But while the Sierra Club-backed proposal has earned plaudits from many in the environmental community, others are pushing back.

The group "No National Park" has put together an organized opposition to the plan. Among their concerns: a lack of clarity on the plan, the increased traffic and visitation to the area, how the boundaries of the park would change, restrictions in accessibility to the park, funding questions, and the potential loss of farmland along the river due to National Park conservation requirements.

"The loss of this farmland will disrupt the local economy and food chain," writes Susan Hull, the organizer of No National Park, on the group's website. "If eminent domain were used to acquire privately owned property, the loss of property tax revenue would directly impact the local school systems, whose Impact Aid (intended to offset this loss) must be re-applied for each year, and has been significantly decreasing every year."

The group also points to potential increases in traffic and corresponding tolls, and how that would impact commuters in the region. They say they have the support of several townships in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania, as well as certain school districts that are fearful of what the changes could mean.

Supporters say that criticisms of the proposal are overblown.

"No one will lose what they are able to do now," Donald Miles, Vice Chair of the Pennsylvania Sierra Club, told the Appalachian Mountain Club.

The Sierra Club also says the conservation impaclt is about more than just the Delaware Water Gap and the local region. It's cumulative.

"An expansion of our national park system would relieve pressure on existing parks by offering alternative national park experiences in other outstanding places," Michael Kellett wrote in the Sierra Club's magazine. "In addition, more protected forests, grasslands, and waters would fight climate change by sequestering large amounts of carbon dioxide."

While the Delaware Water Gap is currently overseen by the National Park Service, National Recreation Areas are not privy to quite the same level of protection. For one, more intensive land use and consumptive activities like hunting are allowed in a National Recreation Area. National Parks more aggressively enforce the protection of the natural environment from other uses. They also typically prohibit hunting, although the Sierra Club's proposal for the Delaware Water Gap is unusual in that it would still allow hunting at the same level as is currently permitted. It would create a preserve within the park and continue protections where they exist now.

There are National Historical Parks and other designations in Pennsylvania, like Valley Forge and Independence Park in Philadelphia. But nowhere in the entire state of Pennsylvania is there a National Park. Nor is there one in neighboring New Jersey or New York. The closest to Philadelphia is Shenandoah National Park, which is four hours south in Virginia.

Most Recreation Areas are located adjacent to large public reservoirs, and the area's chief management objectives are to facilitate water-based recreation activities. That's opposed to National Parks, whose management objectives begin with natural and historical resource conservation.

Changing of the designation will require approval from U.S. Congress. To get the attention of lawmakers, the Sierra Club's chapters in New Jersey and Pennsylvania are working closely with local nonprofits, businesses, and groups like the Appalachian Mountain Club to drum up support.
In addition to towering waterfalls like Raymondskill, Pennsylvania's largest, and sweeping views of two states and much of the watershed, the Water Gap is also home to one of the most spectacular stretches of the Appalachian Trail, the 2,200 mile foot path from Georgia to Maine.