The Sierra Club has renewed its push to change the 70,000- acre Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area into a national park and preserve , thereby closing off tens of thousands of acres to hunting for area sportsmen . Only this year , they didn ’ t try to push a bill through Congress , but hoped to do so through underhanded maneuvering while political winds were blowing in their favor . For the last decade , the Sierra Club — led by their New Jersey chapter — has fought for the change of designation under the guise of increased funding . Their plan was to re-designate a large portion of the area as the Delaware River National Park and whatever was leftover would have been re-designated the Lenape Preserve . They claim the “ Preserve ” status for some portion of the property would allow for hunting ; however , sportsmen know , and have seen firsthand in West Virginia when the New River Gorge designation changed ( see sidebar ), that a critical loss of huntable acres is what results from this maneuver .
The Sierra Club wasn ’ t shy about their intentions and why they were pushing so hard this session ; from their website : “… we ’ re aware that the current favorable climate in Congress is tenuous . We are
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If Congress were to reclassify the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area as a park and preserve , the move would likely result in a loss of hunting access .
working to get this legislation passed in the current session … The change could happen as simply as with the attachment of a rider to an appropriations bill .”
In short , they hoped to accomplish this change through political malfeasance . There was no bill introduced , so there wouldn ’ t be a chance to speak out against it in hearings — no testimony or no debate . They hoped to attach a rider to a spending bill and to take thousands of acres of public land from hunters just that easily .
“ Changing the designation to a national park and preserve is just the first step . After that , comes rules changes and federal interference in seasons and methods . The Sportsmen ’ s Alliance has had to fight for years to protect the right of Alaska to manage hunting practices in federal parks and preserves . If you don ’ t think they ’ ll try similar things at Delaware Water Gap then you ’ re gravely mistaken ,” said Evan Heusinkveld , president and CEO of Sportsmen ’ s Alliance . “ This continual attack on sportsmen is unconscionable , especially in the Northeast where hunting areas are severely limited to begin with .”
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A STUDY IN LOSS
West Virginia ’ s New River Gorge first entered National Park Service as a recreational area in 1978 , and at the time , hunters were assured no loss of access . In December 2020 , however , it received the National Park designation . With that change , no increase in funding was received and an influx of visitors that has overwhelmed infrastructure has resulted . Likewise , 10 percent of the area ’ s 72,000 acres was entered under the “ park ” designation . While 65,000 acres remain open to hunting , more than 7,000 acres of the most rugged terrain and best hunting was lost .
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