A final visitor management plan adopted for Delaware Water Gap NRA is designed to protect resources such as Tumbling Waters/NPS file
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area along the New Jersey-Pennsylvania border will remain free to enter under a visitor management plan released after five years of work.
The nearly 150-page plan seeks to ensure visitors make the most out of their visit, while also protecting park resources, something that has been a challenge in recent years. Growing popularity has led to both visible crowding and complaints from visitors, who have voiced concerns with "the presence of large groups, trash, or other visitors engaging in activities that the reporting visitor believes detracts from their own experience."
Trampled and eroded vegetation and soils have been noticed at many sites in the NRA, including Adams Creek, Raymondskill Falls, Van Campens Glen, Dingmans Falls, Caddoo, Namanock Recreation Site, Freeman Tract, Hidden Lake, and the Blue Mountain Lakes area.
The final Visitor Use Management Plan released Tuesday is the result of a project that began in summer 2015 and which included a great deal of time, energy, collaboration, and input by neighboring town governments, chambers of commerce, industry partners, communities, stakeholders, National Park Service staff, and the public.
"We thank the public for sharing their feedback with us and for their continued involvement throughout the planning process. The VUM Plan was revised with our visitors and stakeholders and not just for them. We asked and we listened," said Water Gap Superintendent Sula Jacobs.
The Water Gap NRA is a nearly 70,000-acre unit of the National Park System, with park lands almost equally divided between the two states along and including the 40-mile-long Middle Delaware National Scenic and Recreational River, which is the boundary between the two states. The park is among the top 20 most-visited units of the national park system with an average of 3.8 million visitors annually, and is one of the largest parks in terms of infrastructure responsibilities. It is less than a two-hour drive from both New York City and Philadelphia.
Under the plan, the NRA staff will:
- Erase unofficial visitor-created trails at Raymondskill Falls to limit crowd sizes and protect park resources while providing safe and high quality visitor experiences;
- Establish new traffic patterns to increase parking capacity at Kittatinny Point on busy weekends.
- Begin to assess the feasibility of a permit program for hunters with disabilities, including limited administrative road access and accessible hunting blinds.
- Not move forward with the proposal to charge a parkwide entrance fee. However, the park will continue with the current expanded amenity fee structure and additional park sites may be included as amenity fee sites in the future. The park will seek stakeholder feedback when new amenity fee sites have been identified and before implementing fees for additional sites.
- Make improvements to the park’s trails to link trail networks, enhance accessibility, and diversify trail experiences; improvements will be sustainably designed to protect park resources. Partnership and cost-sharing opportunities will be explored related to equestrian and biking trails.
- Expand picnicking opportunities in a variety of locations throughout the park to better meet demand, including designated areas that can accommodate large groups. Hidden Lake is one area that may be evaluated for use as a group picnic area; other expansions or improvements could take place at park beaches.
- Several projects in the plan are intended to increase and improve accessibility to facilities and programs throughout the park. Projects include improvements to the Loch Lomond and Hidden Lake fishing piers and trails; canoe/kayak access points with launch aids; improved online and virtual services; audio descriptions on waysides at Childs Park and Dingmans Falls; ramp access to key public buildings; trail improvements; and a permit system for hunting access.
- River camping is one of the more unique experiences offered at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and on the Middle Delaware National Scenic and Recreational River. The NPS will move forward with charging $16 per site, per night fee and establishing a reservation system for use of the river campsites. Implementation will be phased in over time, beginning in 2021. The park will continue to maintain existing river campsites; pilot alternative waste management solutions at two river campsites; and restore up to 20 river campsites in clustered groupings using creative solutions for human waste management, improved accessibility for people with disabilities, and ease of access for maintenance. Education about Leave No Trace© principles and water safety will be promoted to increase resource protection and human health and safety practices in the outdoors.
- The Park Service will seek funding for a New Jersey access study to determine the feasibility of developing a new river access on the New Jersey side of the park and/or the expansion of existing sites. The study will identify whether suitable locations are present and identify potential locations for further investigation. The initiation of this study will be contingent on the availability of funding.
“This plan has been heavily influenced by input from the park community and has changed based on their thoughts, concerns, and ideas. The park will use this plan as a guide in future decision-making, relying on the science, data, and the strong community voice reflected in it to ensure this park remains an important haven,” said Jacobs. “We will continue having conversations with the park community as we move forward with individual plan strategies, some of which will require additional public review and feedback. As a result of this planning process, we hope the public will trust that we are listening, that all their voices and ideas are important to us, and that they will continue to be engaged in dialog with us about their national park.”
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