Last Wednesday, July 13, John Donahue presented at Delaware Valley Action's monthly meeting at the Waterwheel Cafe in Milford, PA. It was, for the most part, the same presentation he has given before, but with one significant addition: a map (pictured below).
The map depicts the proposed borders of the National Park and Lenape Preserve, and shows the National Park section as a sliver of emerald green running up both sides of the Delaware River from the Gap to Raymondskill (just south of Milford, PA).
After a lively Q&A session, Donahue was pressed about what additional levels of "protection" a National Park would give the area. His answer was "consumptive activities." The translation of consumptive activities is: harvesting of something or removing of something from the area.
The implications of this would SEVERELY impact hunting and fishing. There would be no keeping of fish from the river. No foraging of any kind. And no hunting of any kind, which would eliminate hunting anywhere near the river, as well as waterfowl hunting along and on the river. No motors of any kind would be permitted on the river. Per their website, consumptive activities (with the exception of hunting) would be prohibited in the Preserve as well, eliminating fishing in the light green areas of the map.
It's difficult to see from the below photo, but if the NP encompasses the fields where pheasant are stocked, that would no longer be allowed. The future of farming near the river is in question.
The configuration of the park as a long, narrow sliver increases the amount of huntable land taken away because of the "buffer zone" needed along the borders of the National Park. This would increase the acreage they would need to acquire from either the state or private landowners to compensate for the loss of huntable land.
It looks like Old Mine Road, River Road, and 209 would be included in the National Park. It is difficult to travel in a National Park with a firearm or bow, which could limit or eliminate hunting access to the Preserve from those routes.
The map key does not provide acreage of any pieces of land (NP vs Preserve vs state owned vs privately owned). There is also not a scale bar, which makes it difficult to see the actual size of the proposed Park and Preserve accurately. Private property lines are not easily discernable.
Last week, Mr. Donahue said that the map would be available on their website within a few days. We are awaiting this so we can see the map in more detail.
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