DelGrosso Land Added to Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

© sachindaluja via Flickr

The freshwater wetlands and black spruce swamps - once part of the largest pieces of private property within the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area - have officially been added to the park.

In 1965, the DelGrosso family purchased the 91.5-acre tract, just east of the Delaware River in Sussex County, N.J. but agreed to sell the property to the Nature Conservancy last year. Its appraised value was $1 million until the federal government allocated money for the park to buy the land.

The National Park Service considers the DelGrosso land to be a critical element for wildlife, habitat, and water protection in the Gap. The entire Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area covers about 70,000 acres of mostly forested land that cradles the Delaware River as it runs from Milford to Water Gap.