Hundreds Protest Closure of Nine N.J. State Parks
By Margaret Foster | Online Only | Apr. 23, 2008
About 500 people gathered today at the New Jersey State House today to protest Gov. Jon Crozine's plan to close nine state parks.
"The outcry has been so enormous," says Cate Litvack, executive director of the Crossroads of the American Revolution Association, whose mission is to preserve and promote the state's Revolutionary War sites. "This would be an awful thing to do; it would have an enormous impact on tourism and on state revenues. You're really being pennywise and pound-foolish."
A coalition of more than 100 environmental and preservation groups, Keep It Green, organized today's rally.
"We're going right into the season when a lot of people in New Jersey and tourists use these types of places," says Adrian Fine, director of the Northeast Field Office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "[These historic sites and parks] don't provide a lot of revenue, and they're also sites that, already, the states have never been able to afford in terms of maintenance."
The nine parks slated for closure are:
Monmouth Battlefield State Park
Stephens State Park
High Point State Park
Brendan T. Byrne State Forest
Round Valley Recreation Area
Parvin State Park
Jenny Jump State Forest
Worthington State Forest
Fort Mott State Park
The state wants to limit services at three other sites: Ringwood State Park, D&R Canal State Park, and Washington Crossing State Park.
Comments
Submitted by Anonymous at: April 29, 2008
It is sad that we let these politicians get away with so much nonsense
Submitted by urbanpros at: April 24, 2008
There were actually more than 500 people at the rally, many in Revolutionary War costume and some on horseback. Among the parks being closed or cut back are important state-owned historic sites, including = Ringwood Manor - reduced hours = Monmouth Battlefield - closed = D&R Canal State Park - Interpretive services will be suspended at all historic sites in the park. = Washington Crossing State Park - 40 percent reduction in interpretive staff resulting in significantly reduced hours of operation at the Clark House at Princeton Battlefield State Park, the Johnson Ferry House and the museum = Indian King Tavern (Haddonfield), administered by Brendan Byrne State Forest, will be closed = Round Valley, Wallace House/Old Dutch Parsonage and park office closed = Fort Mott State Park - Hancock House, park office and other historic sites closed