NJ SR29

New Jersey Senate Resolution opposes redesignating the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area as a National Park and Preserve, specifically targeting a proposal from the Delaware River National Park and Lenape Preserve Alliance submitted in 2022 and revised in 2023.

The Delaware Water Gap currently encompasses nearly 70,000 acres, with 21,978 acres in Sussex County and 9,222 acres in Warren County, offering hunting, fishing, camping, and other recreational activities.

Concerns include potential restrictions or prohibitions on hunting and other recreational activities, loss of local tax revenue from converting private property to federal parkland, and negative impacts on local school districts and farmers who lease land along the Delaware River.

The resolution raises fears that eminent domain could be used to acquire private property and adjacent state lands including High Point State Park, Stokes State Forest, and Worthington State Forest.

Copies of the resolution would be transmitted to the Governor, Secretary of the Interior, National Park Service Director, all New Jersey members of Congress, and the Commissioner of Environmental Protection.