N.J.’s Wild & Scenic Musconetcong River

RELEASE: February 1, 2007 – Volume XXXVII, No. 5

You don’t have to live along the mighty Hudson or Delaware to appreciate the beauty of New Jersey’s rivers. Just ask the folks who live near the scenic Musconetcong River in northwestern New Jersey: they just completed a 15 year labor-of-love to protect the Musconetcong. In December, due to their initiative, federal legislation designating 24 miles of the Musconetcong as part of the National Wild & Scenic Rivers System became law. The federal Wild & Scenic Rivers Act requires that a river possess “outstandingly remarkable” resources of regional, state and national importance, and the “Muskie” met the test!

Located entirely in the New Jersey Highlands and flowing out of Lake Hopatcong on the border between Sussex and Morris counties, the Musconetcong River travels 43 miles to the Delaware River at Riegelsville, marking the border between Warren and Hunterdon counties.

The Musconetcong Valley is one of the most beautiful valleys in the Highlands, with some of New Jersey’s best farmland. The river corridor’s historic bridges, houses and villages – many of them listed on the NJ and National Registers of Historic Places – make you feel you’ve stepped back in time. One of the most important Paleo-Indian archeological sites in the northeastern United States, the Plenge site, which dates back some 12,000 years, is located along the lower Musconetcong.

The Musconetcong’s water system provides quality drinking water, important habitat for threatened, endangered and rare animals and plants, and supports recreational opportunities like fishing, canoeing, hiking, camping and sightseeing. However, the valley is also a prime target for residential development, and the river faces deteriorating water quality.

Even though it won’t by itself ensure permanent protection, the national designation as a scenic and recreational river enhances protections on the river, and opens the door to more federal preservation resources. In addition, a River Management Plan required by the Wild & Scenic Rivers study, completed in 2003, sets forth goals and recommends actions to maintain and improve the river corridor, its tributaries and watershed, and surrounding natural, cultural and recreational resources.

When Congress created the National Wild & Scenic Rivers System in 1968, its goal was to preserve selected rivers or river segments with “outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic or cultural values” in their free-flowing condition. Designated rivers may not be dammed or otherwise improved, and any development along the river must not impact the value of the resources for which the river was preserved in the first place.

The Wild & Scenic Rivers System relies on cooperation among all levels of government and private citizens to provide communities with the means to protect rivers in ways best suited to the needs and concerns of the people who live, work, and play there. It takes a similar level of cooperation to get the designation in the first place.

The effort to protect the Musconetcong River through federal designation began back in 1991, coalescing when local citizens organized the Musconetcong Watershed Association (MWA). After eight years of consensus building and study, the National Park Service found segments of the river to be eligible. Five years later, federal legislation was introduced. Over the next two years, lobbying by local and federal officials, citizens and organizations like American Rivers, helped push the legislation over the finish line.

The Musconetcong River is one of New Jersey’s “Highlands Treasures,” and its story exemplifies how our natural, scenic and cultural resources can be protected through perseverance and diligent work. With the designation in place, the work of permanent protection can begin.

I hope you’ll contact me at info@njconservation.org, for more information about conserving New Jersey’s precious land and natural resources.

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