Author: jeff

Above photo: Principal Chief Dennis Coker, Lenape Indian Tribe of Delaware, talks with DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin during a tour. /DNREC photo.

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is listing properties acquired through the state’s Open Space Program.

Since 2022, DNREC has added 597 acres to the nearly 45,000 acres the department previously acquired through the program with combined state, federal, and partner funds.

“The Delaware Open Space Program supports our conservation work with funding and donations to help us fill in crucial gaps with easements and acquisitions – one piece at a time – between protected properties,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. “These properties may be as small as an acre or a hundred times that size but serve the same purpose connecting Delaware’s protected lands, wetlands and waterways, which often may be vital habitat for our state’s threatened or endangered species. These lands also support active outdoor recreation, from hunting and fishing to birdwatching and hiking trails.”

DNREC manages 17 state parks, 20 wildlife areas and dozens of public recreation access areas including trails, overlooks, boardwalks, fishing piers and boat ramps.

Over the past year, the DNREC Division of Parks and Recreation added seven new properties in key locations, totaling approximately 254 acres:

• Jaggers Conservation Easement – About 9 acres of wooded land adjoining the James Branch Nature Preserve and adjacent to Trap Pond State Park is included in the February 2022 easement. The property expands the protected lands within the James Branch watershed.
• Rocky Run Ventures LLC Property – Two acres in New Castle purchased in May 2022 expanded Brandywine Creek State Park and protects forest land.
• The Lenape Conservation Easement – A 

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Thirteen new properties have been added as protected acreage through the Open Space program. A total of 597 acres is now under conservation statewide – most of this is in Kent and Sussex Counties. DNREC manages 17 state parks, 20 wildlife areas and dozens of public recreation access areas including trails, overlooks, boardwalks, fishing piers and boat ramps. DNREC Division of Parks and Recreation has added about 254 acres including areas of Trap Pond State Park and the James Branch Nature Preserve and Killens Pond State Park. And the Division of Fish and Wildlife added six new properties – about 343 acres – that improve public access, protect sensitive areas and expand and connect existing wildlife areas.

Additional information from DNREC:

Over the last year, the DNREC Division of Parks and Recreation added seven new properties in key locations, totaling approximately 254 acres:

• Jaggers Conservation Easement – About 9 acres of wooded land adjoining the James Branch Nature Preserve and adjacent to Trap Pond State Park is included in the February 2022 easement. The property expands the protected lands within the James Branch watershed and preserves its scenic, natural and aesthetic values.

• Rocky Run Ventures LLC Property – Two acres in New Castle purchased in May 2022 expanded Brandywine Creek State Park and helped protect forested lands.

• The Lenape Conservation Easement – A conservation easement on 11 acres in Kent County was donated in June 2022 by The Conservation Fund. The easement protects land adjacent to Delaware State Parks’ Fork Branch Nature Preserve. In addition, The Conservation Fund donated the ownership rights to the Lenape Indian Tribe of Delaware. The Lenape have been stewarding the lands including the removal of invasive species.

• Ward Property – 39 acres in Sussex County…

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Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River and the Zane Grey’s West Society will host the 17th Annual Zane Grey Festival, Saturday, July 15.  The free festival will be held on the grounds of Zane Grey Museum in Lackawaxen, Pike County, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Zane Grey Festival is geared towards fun for the entire family with many activities and events for children and adults throughout the day including:

⦁ Bill Streeter of the Delaware Valley Raptor Center will present a live birds of prey program from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.⦁ Brookvalley Farms will be offering horse-drawn wagon rides from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.⦁ Adam Swartz, professional puppeteer, will present a Children’s Puppet Show from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.⦁ Rosanne Vrugtman, President of Zane Grey’s West Society will present “Legend & Legacy, the Life of Zane Grey” from 12:30 to 1:05 p.m..⦁ Adam DePaul, Tribal Council Member and Story Keeper of the Lenape of Pennsylvania, will present “The Past and Present of the Lenape in Pennsylvania” from 1:15 to 1:45 p.m.⦁ Local musician Dan Engvaldsen will perform folk music from 2 to 3:30 p.m.⦁ The National Parks Conservation Association will hold interactive water table demonstrations from 11:30 to 11:45 a.m. and 1:30 to 1:45 p.m.Ongoing throughout the day, staff from Steamtown National Historic Site will demonstrate the “Ring of Fire” and the state of Pennsylvania will host its interactive WoodMobile. There will be craft activities available for children of all ages, a children’s scavenger hunt, primitive skills demonstrations, weaving demonstrations, and free popcorn courtesy of the Honesdale National Bank.

Zane Grey’s legacy of literature and sportsmanship lives on in Lackawaxen, on the Upper Delaware. Zane Grey (1872-1939) was a dentist but became famous for writing novels about America’s Old West. His writing was inspired by his…

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