A crowd overflowed the bar area of the Waterwheel Cafe last week when John Donahue, former Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (DWGNRA) Superintendent defended a proposal to change the DWGNRA designation to national park. He is now a spokesperson for the New Jersey Sierra Club and presented their proposal authored by him. The national park he advocated would be known as the Delaware River National Park and Lenape National Preserve.
Donahue cited several benefits to the change. Among them was “the prestige of becoming a national park– the highest type of protection of our natural resources. It would make people more aware of the spectacular natural features of the area.” Another benefit he mentioned was an increase in tourism and the concomitant economic boom it would create.
He cited New River Gorge, a national recreation area in West Virginia that drew an additional 600,000 visitors when it became a national park. This could mean that local tourism in the area would reach over a million.
He also mentioned that while people thought hunting would be banned in a national park, huntable areas could be added to the “preserve “ area next to the park. Third, he mentioned that having a national park would encourage private investment around the area. Donahue urged people to read the actual proposal on his website: www.delvalpark.org.
When he lauded the potential tourism growth of 600,000 as a benefit, a gasp was audible in the room. As people became angry, opposition to the proposal became clear, although the event was billed as a “pro” presentation, hosted by Delaware Valley Action!.
When Donahue said that a grass roots movement supported his proposal, someone shouted out, “Not a grass roots movement– there are 4,000 people against it.”
Many expressed concern about inadequate local infrastructure for the influx….
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Protestors from Rise Up for Abortion Rights jump into the beginnings of the Salute to Independence parade. (Sam Searles/WHYY) 
