Yellowstone National Park welcomed a record 4.5 million visitors in 2016.
In 2008, Pennsylvania’s Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area — what a mouthful — recorded 5.1 million visitors. In 2020, during the pandemic, it welcomed 4.1 million, mostly from Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. The 70,000-acre national recreation area is in eastern Pennsylvania, near Stroudsburg, and is renowned for its stunning Raymondskill Falls, the tallest waterfall in Pennsylvania, as well as other breathtaking views.
Still, the Delaware Water Gap hasn’t been designated as a national park, despite nearly 10 years of effort by the Sierra Club and other groups. But no one’s giving up. In the coming months, Sierra Club chapters in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey will present proposals to local business owners, elected officials and indigenous leaders to push for a change of the natural wonder’s status.
They’re building some momentum — enough, they hope, to tip public opinion over the edge. When the time comes, the U.S. House and Senate should support the proposal.
National parks aren’t designated solely based on the number of visitors, of course — though recreational opportunities do indeed factor into the decision. At least as important are the natural beauty, unique history and cultural significance a piece of land has. Sierra Club members cite the value of the area’s watershed, its vistas and its key importance as a host of the Appalachian Trail, the 2,200-mile footpath from Maine to Georgia.
There would be two immediate benefits to changing the area’s designation. First, recognizing the area as a national park would bestow the respect and significance the area deserves — and give Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York residents their first national park. There are, generally, far too few national parks east of the Mississippi, certainly disproportionate to our share of natural wonders.
Second, funding for conservation and infrastructure would increase dramatically. The Delaware Water Gap currently receives $8.2 million from the National Parks Service compared to, for example, Yellowstone’s $27.6 million. This funding would likely be used to support infrastructure, such as roads, parking and trail conservation.
Naming the area a national park also could provide a bump to the local economies and tourism industry in areas along the Pennsylvania-New Jersey border.
About the only opposition to the proposed change in status has come from hunters, who are allowed to pursue their sport in many areas of the park during the appropriate seasons. As it stands, however, the Sierra Club’s proposal would create a preserve for hunting within the park’s boundaries.
In 2020, West Virginia’s New River Gorge was named the country’s 63rd national park despite worries from some locals that the area lacked amenities to handle an increase in tourism. The Delaware Water Gap, on the other hand, already handles millions of visitors every year and basically functions no differently from current national parks, according to a former superintendent as well as Sierra Club officials.
It’s time: Congress, designate the Delaware Water Gap to be Pennsylvania’s first national park as soon as the legislation is ready to be considered.
First Published: November 4, 2021, 4:00 a.m.