Delaware Water Gap adds 91.5 acres

November 16, 2009
Christopher Baxter
The Morning Call

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Delaware Water Gap adds 91.5 acres

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The freshwater wetlands and black spruce swamps of one 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., to protect the land's expansive forests for family outings, hiking and other recreation.

Last year, the family agreed to sell the property to the Nature Conservancy for its appraised value of $1 million until the federal government allocated money for the park to buy the land.

''This year, they came up with the money so we transferred it over,'' said KharaMcKeen, spokeswoman for the Nature Conservancy in New Jersey. . . .

The tract is north of Mettler Road, bounded on the west by Van Auken Road and on the east by Old Mine Road.