A River Runs Through It wasn’t filmed on the Delaware River but it could have been. Controversy Erupts Over Proposal For PA’s First National Park.

 FROM:

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.

Me tying flies along the bank
of the Upper Delaware River.

Supporters say that criticisms of the proposal are overblown."

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“Americans for Prosperity” doesn’t do eminent domain anymore. I can’t find any large group involved with supporting landowners in eminent domain issues. They all seem to have been dissolved.

The objective of the “Property Rights” people wasn’t to help landowners it was to give property or corporations the same rights as living people.

The real underlying issue in the right wing eminent domain fights is human rights for corporations. The Supreme Court has achieved 1st Amendment Rights for corporations and is on the road to fulfilling the libertarian goal of the human rights expressed in the Bill of Rights to apply to corporations as well as living humans.

MORE AT:

The huge fights over eminent domain are over.

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BACK TO:

Controversy Erupts Over Proposal For PA's First National Park

"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."

FROM:

Controversy Erupts Over Proposal For PA's First National Park

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

Posted Mon, Aug 8, 2022 at 12:52 pm ET

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I took my brother Joe Pitcherella on a little 

camping trip at a campground on the bank of the 

Delaware River near Hancock NY on the 

Pennsylvania side. 

“Wait? What? You’ve never fished the Delaware River?'

If you live in the East and are an avid (borderline obsessed) trout angler, this is the kind of thing you will hear from peers if you admit that you’ve never wet a line in one of the East’s most famous trout rivers. 

I got it again a few months ago when a friend here in Virginia introduced me to her visiting son, who lives in New York City and recently decided he wanted to join what is apparently a new millennial fascination with fly fishing. 

He was hoping I could provide some tips for fishing the upper Delaware. You see, he was shocked that after dropping some serious cash on all of the required gear, he didn’t catch a single fish on his first trip over to Hancock. 

I could offer little specific advice. 

“I’ve never been there,” I said. “About all I can tell you is that it’s not easy.” 

What I did know about it was that it is full of big, wild trout. Those fish can be finicky because when a river with incredible “blanket hatches” is just two hours from New York City and just a bit farther from Philadelphia, those fish see plenty of flies every season.

The upside of that pressure is that many of those anglers are vocal advocates, working with groups such as Trout Unlimited and Friends of the Upper Delaware River for management that is more trout-friendly, and for much-needed funding of restoration work in the Delaware basin."

MORE AT:

The Hype Is Real: A Day On The Upper Delaware - Trout Unlimited