The National Park Service is in the process of creating a Historic Properties Management Plan to address the future of all  historic structures acquired during the Tocks Island Dam Project acquisitions, which created the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

Release date:  February 23, 2017

 NPS Announces Public Meetings for Historic Properties Management Plan

BUSHKILL, PA- National Park Service (NPS) Superintendent John J. Donahue announced today that public scoping for the Historic Properties Management Plan (HPMP) for Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area will take place from Thursday, February 23 to Friday, March 31.   “This plan will provide guidance for park employees and managers when making strategic maintenance and preservation decisions about our historic structures in the future,” said Donahue.  “It will be a very important and useful tool and public input is essential.  At this time, we want to share what we’ve accomplished and solicit public comment on the proposed actions that we have developed.”  

To provide information about the project, answer questions, and solicit public comment, two public meetings have been scheduled.  The first meeting will be held from 6-8 pm

on March 8 in the cafeteria at North Warren Regional High School, 10 Noe Road, in Blairstown, NJ.  A second meeting is scheduled from 6-8 pm on March 9 in Room 336 of East Stroudsburg University’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center located at 562 Independence Road in East Stroudsburg, PA (near the intersection of Routes 209 and 447).  The public can also review documents and background information and provide comments online during the scoping period at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/DEWA_HPMP.

Comments may also be mailed to Superintendent John J. Donahue, Attn:  HPMP, 1978 River Road, Bushkill, PA, 18324. 

Preparing the HPMP is one of several mitigation measures intended to mitigate for adverse effects to cultural resources in the park from the construction and operation of the Susquehanna-Roseland Transmission Line. In 2012, the National Park Service released the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Record of Decision (ROD) for the S-R Line Project, which included a requirement that such a plan be prepared. When completed, the HPMP will incorporate evaluations of historic significance, physical and structural condition, and potential future uses and will recommend treatment options for each structure or property in the park.  It is expected to be completed in late-2018.

For more information on Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and this project, call park headquarters at (570) 426-2452, Monday through Friday from 8 am until 4:30 pm; visit our website at www.nps.gov/dewa; of follow us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/DelWaterGapNPS.