Help Prevent a Conference Center on Depue Island in the Delaware River

A Shawnee developer is planning to build a 250-room conference center on Depue Island in the Delaware River. The island is in the midst of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

The proposed location of the multi-story hotel/conference center on Depue Island, including a commercial bridge to the island, is clearly in violation of the 1965 Act that created the DWGNRA and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (W&SR). In 1978, the Middle Delaware was included in the W&SR Act. Find more details about these acts and how they protect this area of the Delaware River on the Lehigh Valley Group web page.

There are many more reasons not to build the conference center. Depue Island:

• Is located in Delaware River Basin Commission’s (DRBC) “Special Protection Waters” because of the high quality designation of the waters in that stretch.
• Is located in the DRBC-classified “flood-way” due to its history of flooding in both naturally-occurring high water floods and also due to ice jams that back up water over the islands.
• Possesses rich archaeological resources as well as a variety of native wildlife and plant life that NRA visitors regularly enjoy.
• Is viewed by many thousands of river users and Appalachian Trail hikers.

Hotels can be built in hundreds of places besides irreplaceable islands found in wild areas. Please write a letter or make a phone call to Mr. John Donahue (see address below). Feel free to use text found here for your letter. When writing to the NPS, please ask them to buy Depue Island now. There are funds in the NPS for purchases such as this.

The 1965 Act that created the DWGNRA included the following promises to the American people:

1. Public outdoor recreation benefits
2. Preservation of scenic, scientific and historic features contributing to public enjoyment and
3. Such utilization of natural resources in the judgment of the Secretary of the Interior that is consistent with – and does not significantly impair – public outdoor recreation, and protection of scenic, scientific and historic features contributing to public enjoyment.

In 1978, the Middle Delaware was included in the Wild and Scenic Rivers (W&SR) Act and, concurrently, was made part of the DWGNRA. The Act is very specific about preventing non-conforming uses within the confines of the Scenic and Recreational Delaware River. The Act states: “Each component of the NW&S River System shall be administered to protect and enhance the value which caused it to be included in said system” - and that “in such administration, primary emphasis shall be given to protecting its esthetic, scenic, historic, archaeological and scientific features.” The Act also states that when a Wild and Scenic River is placed inside a NPS system, it becomes subject to provisions of both NPS and W&SR Acts, adding: “In case of conflict between provisions of these Acts, the more restrictive provisions shall apply.”

People to contact about this:

Click here for a sample Word letter that you can customize and send.
Click here for the sample letter in a text file format.
Please replace the items in [square brackets] with appropriate information.
While this letter is written for Mr. Donahue, feel free to send it to anyone and everyone on this list. And feel free to customize it!

Contacts at the National level:

Marie Rust, National Park Service, 200 Chestnut St., Customs House, Philadelphia, PA 19106

Gale Norton, U.S. Secretary of the Interior And Fran Mainella, Director, National Park Service
1847 C St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20240

Mr. John Donahue, Superintendent, DWGNRA, NPA Offices, Bushkill, PA 18324

Contacts at the State and Local levels:

Governor Ed Rendell, Governor’s Office, State Capitol, Harrisburg, PA 17101

Governor Jim McGreevey, Governor’s Office, State Capitol, Trenton, NJ 08600

Mr. Bradley M. Campbell, Commissioner of the NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection, 401 East State St., Trenton, NJ, 28625

John Siptroth, Chairman, Smithfield Township Board of Supervisors, R.D. 5, East Stroudsburg, PA 18301

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