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| Delaware Water Gap, autumn -- Wikimedia |
Might New Jersey get its first National Park? Well, the Appalachian Mountain Club and the Sierra Club are pushing for that. Their nominee is the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. It is currently an area that encompasses 70,000 acres of mountains, forest and, of course, the Delaware River.
The Water Gap is one of the most popular outdoor destinations in the country, with more than 4.5 million visitors annually.
Why become a National park? That "branding" does bring national and maybe some international attention to a place. It also brings more funding for amenities and infrastructure. The Water Gap sees the same amount of tourists as Yellowstone but without a commensurate budget.
Remember that it is already a National Recreation Area so the change is to National Park and Preserve.
As the pandemic began to lift this past summer, you heard people saying they wanted to get back to seeing some of the National Parks. National Recreation Areas - not so much. National parks like Yosemite and Grand Canyon get a lot of attention. There are only nine National Parks east of the Mississippi River.
New Jersey is not alone in lacking a national park. Pennsylvania and New York also lack one. The nearest one to us is Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. (Pennsylvania does have National Historical Parks, including Independence Mall and Valley Forge.)
The proposal to change the Water Gap's status needs to be presented to elected officials, Indigenous leaders, business owners and residents in both states, and then would still need U.S. House and Senate support. So, don't expect it to happen in the next year.
SOURCES
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| Water Gap, winter -- Wikimedia |
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