National Wild & Scenic Rivers
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National Wild & Scenic Rivers |
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In an October 18, 2000 letter to U.S. Rep. Rush Holt, President Clinton wrote:
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The United States Congress approved legislation signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on October 2, 1968, creating the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. This law, known as the "Wild and Scenic Rivers Act," stated:
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States that certain selected rivers of the Nation which, with their immediate environments, possess outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural, or other similar values, shall be preserved in free-flowing condition, and that they and their immediate environments shall be protected for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations.
According to the National Park Service, when the Congress created the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System in 1968, it envisioned a cooperative system that would rely on the combined efforts of state, local, and federal governments along with individual citizens and non-governmental organizations. The system was intended to be flexible enough to provide a means for communities to protect their rivers in a way that is sensitive to the needs and concerns of the people who live, work, and recreate along the rivers.
The National Park Service's web site reports that the U.S. has 3.5 million miles of rivers, but only 11,434 river miles (just over one-quarter of one percent) are included in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
Two reaches of the Delaware River were added to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System by Congress and President Jimmy Carter in 1978. One section extends 73 miles from the confluence of the river's East and West branches at Hancock, N.Y. downstream to Milrift, Pa.; the second covers about 40 miles from just south of Port Jervis, N.Y. downstream to the Delaware Water Gap near Stroudsburg, Pa. Combined, these two river corridors take in approximately 145,000 acres; however, while nearly 70,000 acres along the 40-mile middle river corridor comprising the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is owned by the federal government, all but 30 acres along the 73-mile Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River is nonfederal and most is privately owned.
 The National Park Service hosted a program in honor of the 25th anniversary of the designation of the Upper Delaware as a component of the National Wild & Scenic Rivers System on Nov. 9, 2003, in Lackawaxen, Pa. These children of NPS employees and attendees had the honor of cutting the cake |
Fifteen years later, a segment of the Maurice River and several tributaries (including Menantico and Muskee Creeks and the Manumuskin River) totalling 35.4 miles were added to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System by Congress and President Bill Clinton in 1993. The Maurice, located in New Jersey, is a Delaware Bay tributary.
Congress gave its final approval to two bills in October 2000 that added a section of the lower Delaware River and the White Clay Creek to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Both bills were signed into law by President Clinton.
The Lower Delaware National Wild and Scenic River includes a 38.9-mile section of the main stem Delaware (and about 28 miles of selected tributaries) linking the Delaware Water Gap and Washington Crossing, Pa., just upstream of Trenton, N.J. Three-quarters of the non-tidal Delaware River is now included in the national system.
The White Clay Creek Wild and Scenic Rivers System Act designated approximately 190 miles of segments and tributaries of the White Clay Creek as components of the national system. This includes virtually the entire watershed, a first time occurrence in the national system. The creek flows from southeastern Pennsylvania to northwestern Delaware and eventually joins the Christina River, a tributary to the Delaware River. It is the first wild and scenic river designation in the state of Delaware. Visit the White Clay Creek Watershed Management Committee's web site at www.whiteclay.org for more information, including an on-line version of the watershed management plan.
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Both of the laws enacted in 2000 implement recommendations from earlier, congressionally mandated studies by the National Park Service, which enjoy widespread local support. DRBC staff participated in the development of both plans.
You can view the Lower Delaware River Management Plan (August 1997) and the 1999 Lower Delaware National Wild and Scenic River Study Report on the National Park Service's web site. The management plan describes goals and recommendations to maintain and improve the water quality in the Lower Delaware Management Area.
On December 22, 2006, President George W. Bush signed into law the Musconetcong Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, which designates 24.2 miles of the Musconetcong River (a tributary of the Delaware River located in New Jersey) as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
In response to the Lower Delaware Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, which was followed in April 2001 with a petition from the Delaware Riverkeeper Network to classify the Lower Delaware as Special Protection Waters (SPW), the DRBC conducted a comprehensive monitoring program to define existing water quality from the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area downstream to the head of tide at Trenton, N.J. to determine eligibility for inclusion in the commission's SPW program. Extensive data were collected from 2000 through 2004 which confirmed that existing water quality in this stretch of river exceeded most state and federal standards. The DRBC permanently designated the Lower Delaware as Significant Resource Waters, one of the two available SPW classifications, by unanimous vote on July 16, 2008 (view resolution). The entire 197-mile non-tidal Delaware River is now protected by SPW anti-degradation regulations.
Partnership Wild and Scenic Rivers Program
Non-Tidal Delaware River Biomonitoring and
Scenic Rivers Monitoring Programs
Common Stream Invertebrates Sampled in the Non-Tidal Delaware River (156 KB)
The Musconetcong Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (Public Law 109-452), Lower Delaware Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (Public Law 106-418), and White Clay Creek Wild and Scenic Rivers System Act (Public Law 106-357) can be viewed on the U.S. Government Printing Office's web site. The free Adobe Reader is required to view these documents.
The Musconetcong bill was introduced by Sen. Jon Corzine (D-N.J.)* and co-sponsored by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) Similar legislation was introduced and co-sponsored by U.S. Reps. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.), Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.), Mike Ferguson (R-N.J.), Rob Andrews (D-N.J.), Jim Saxton (R-N.J.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.), Donald Payne (D-N.J.), Steven Rothman (D-N.J.), Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.), Rush Holt (D-N.J.), Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-N.J.), and Christopher Smith (R-N.J.).
The lower Delaware bill was introduced by Sen. Frank Lautenberg and co-sponsored by Sens. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.)*, Robert Torricelli (D-N.J.)*, and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.). Similar legislation was introduced and co-sponsored by U.S. Reps. Jim Greenwood (R-Pa.)*, Rush Holt, Marge Roukema (R-N.J.)*, Patrick Toomey (R-Pa.)*, Rob Andrews, and Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.).
The White Clay Creek bill was introduced by Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) and co-sponsored by Sen. William Roth (R-Del.).* Similar legislation was introduced and co-sponsored by U.S. Reps. Joseph Pitts (R-Pa.), Michael Castle (R-Del.), and Rob Andrews.
* No longer serves in the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate.
Last Updated: October 24, 2008
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