NPS Seeks Input on Potential Visitor Use Management Strategies

Date: August 24, 2015
Contact: Kathleen Sandt, Public Affairs Specialist, [phone] (c); [phone] (o)

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Superintendent John J. Donahue announced today that a second series of open house public meetings has been scheduled for September 10-12 to solicit input from the public on the preparation of a Visitor Use Management (VUM) Plan for the park. Public listening sessions, focus group meetings, and an online comment period were held in April to get preliminary input from the public.

“The comments we received this spring were extremely valuable and were used to help us develop some potential management strategies that will enable us to provide increased access and opportunities for our visitors while still protecting the park’s natural and cultural resources,” explained Donahue. “Before we proceed any further in the development of the VUM Plan, we want to know what the public thinks of these ideas and we want to provide another opportunity for people to tell us what is important to them and give us any other ideas they might have.” 

There will be multiple opportunities for people to get involved in this important process of planning for the future of the park, including public meetings, an online system for reviewing and commenting on documents, and a live online webinar. Dates, times and locations for the public meetings include:

Thursday, September 10, 7 pm to 9 pm 

Sussex County Technical School 

105 North Church Road 

Sparta, NJ 07871 

Friday, September 11, 1 pm to 3 pm 

Matamoras Fire Hall (Airport Park) 

506 Avenue Q 

Matamoras, PA 18336 

Saturday, September 12, 2 pm to 4 pm 

Bushkill Inn and Conference Center 

159 Pocmont Loop 

Bushkill, PA 18324

A Virtual Public Meeting will be presented as an online webinar on Wednesday, September 16 from 12 pm to 1:30 pm. You can participate in the webinar by going to https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/462869583179499776 on the day of the presentation. Materials can also be reviewed and official comments can be submitted online through the NPS’s Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) website at www.parkplanning.nps.gov/dewa between September 8 and October 9, 2015.