Diverse flora and fauna thrive on its banks and islands. Yet today the Delaware River supports one of the country's largest concentrations of population and industry. Our challenge is to maintain the growth and use of the corridor and its resources to protect its outstanding character.

The Lower Delaware River Management Plan does not contain a prescription for every situation that could confront river managers. Instead, it provides a vision for the future of the river and context for future action, that emphasizes local control and home rule. The heart of that vision is expressed in the following six goals carefully crafted by the Management Plan Committee:

Water Quality:

Natural Resources:

Historic Resources:

Recreation:

Economic Development:

Open Space Preservation:

The Upper and Middle Delaware River have already received Wild and Scenic designation through the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. On October 23, 1992 Congress authorized a study of the Lower Delaware River between the Erie Lackawanna Bridge south of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, and Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania for inclusion in the Wild and Scenic River system. In addition, Congress authorized the development of a Conservation Plan for the segment south of Washington Crossing to the Rancocas Creek in New Jersey and the Poquessing Creek in Pennsylvania.

The Lower Delaware is distinguished from the Upper and Middle sections, and other designated Wild and Scenic Rivers, by its unique combination of natural and cultural resources. It flows through a variety of geologic regions, through Valley and Ridge formations, through the Piedmont, and out into the Coastal Plain. When viewed from the river, the corridor appears natural. The history of our nation is found along the shores of the Lower Delaware- eighteenth and nineteenth century villages and mansions, historic canals that parallel much of the corridor, Washington Crossing, important Native American sites, agricultural heritage, and remnants of the country's industrial revolution. The outstanding scenery along the Lower Delaware is a combination of both dramatic and sublime natural areas, and historic landscape.

The quality of the river's water has undergone dramatic changes throughout recorded history. Pristine when settlers first arrived in the seventeenth century, water quality problems were identified in the eighteenth century Philadelphia, and declined significantly during the Industrial Revolution as industry developed along its shores. Since the 1950s government regulation have helped to greatly reduce pollution, and today the water quality is generally considered good. However, pressures from increased use and development continue to pose a threat to the water and the unique natural and historic resources along its banks.

The Lower Delaware River Study identified ten segments to be considered for National Wild and Scenic classification. The segments lie between the Delaware Water Gap and Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, and include the tributaries of Cook, Tinicum and Tohickon creeks in Bucks County. At the request of the affected municipalities, five additional tributaries have been added to the study area: Frya Run, Paunacussing and Smithtown creeks, and the Paulinskill and Musconetcong rivers.

Development of a River Management Plan is a required component of the Study. The Plan has been compiled by the Lower Delaware Wild and Scenic River Study Task Force and Local Government Committee, with assistance from the National Park Service, Northeast Region. The committees are made up of regional, state, and local agency representatives, landowners, conservationists, business people, and other stakeholders in the Plan area.

The committee members concluded that one Management Plan should be prepared that encompasses both the area being considered for Wild and Scenic designation and the section from Washington Crossing south to the Rancocas Creek in New Jersey and the Poquessing Creek in Pennsylvania (the southern boundary of Bucks County). The Plan area generally follows the predominant ridge lines on both sides of the river. Production of the Management Plan follows extensive research and analysis and many meetings with the public and the municipalities in the Plan area.