Friends of White Clay Creek Preserve respectfully acknowledge that the Preserve is situated on the ancestral and spiritual homeland of the Unami Lenape Indians.
A History of the White Clay Creek
A watershed, a preserve, a treasure
On October 16, 1984 the DuPont Company donated approximately 1,350 acres of land to the states of Delaware and Pennsylvania, creating the White Clay Creek State Park and Preserve. It ended one plan for this land—a dam – but created a legacy and a natural resource that has been enjoyed by the local community ever since.
Although the land was officially donated as parkland in 1984, it was the proposal in the early 1960s to build a dam on the White Clay Creek at Wedgewood Road, in Newark, Delaware (to give the residents of Delaware a new water source) that halted the growth and development of the White Clay Valley. The project would have flooded up to the 150-foot elevation the White Clay Creek from Newark, Delaware into Landenberg, Pennsylvania.
In Delaware, opposition to the project beg
an with a coalition between the Delaware Sierra Club, the United Auto Workers Union, and concerned citizens.
In Pennsylvania, residents along the White Clay Creek who refused to sell their land formed a group to oppose the project. Their concerns were that Pennsylvania land was being taken to supply Delaware with water. Also they were concerned that large mud flats would be created in Pennsylvania when the reservoir was drawn down, creating a haven for mosquitoes and an eyesore.
Eventually the Pennsylvania opposition came together with the active group from Delaware and in 1965 the White Clay Watershed Association was incorporated.
This grassroots group realized that the water-shortage issue needed to be solved in order to stop the dam project. It was an issue of distribution, not volume. The group worked tirelessly to help New Castle County solve its distribution problems with the interconnectivity, or sharing, of water among the state’s various water companies.
Once the water issue was solved, the issue became what to do with the acquired land. With the involvement of the White Clay Watershed Association and Delaware’s Senator Joe Biden (working with the National Park Service and negotiating the land donation with the DuPont Company), a two-state park system (which encompasses over 4,000 acres today) was created.
DuPont agreed to donate 1234 acres to Pennsylvania and 528 acres to Delaware. As recommended, the lands were accepted by the states and each state established a park that operated as a separate entity.
As part of the negotiation process, the various conservation groups involved in the grassroots effort to save the White Clay Valley had put into the resolution/bill of both states the creation of an advisory board to work with the parks departments in both states, “to consider matters related to the restoration and conservation of the preserve.” The advisory board became known as the Bi-State Advisory Council.
The acreage donated to Delaware expanded the holdings of the White Clay Creek State Park. Formerly called the John S. Carpenter State Park, this recreational area and land preserve was created in 1968 with the lands bought by the state of Delaware through the lobbying efforts of the White Clay Creek Watershed Association. The White Clay Creek State Park currently encompasses over 3,000 acres. The park is a multi-use facility with 37 miles of trails, a picnic area with pavilions, a playground, and a disc golf course.
In Pennsylvania, a new entity was formed as the White Clay Creek State Preserve. At the time, it was the only preserve in the state of Pennsylvania. (A preserve is a natural resources area without amenities such as picnic areas, ball fields, or swimming pools.)
In 2000, President Bill Clinton signed into law a bill designating the entire White Clay Watershed as a National Wild and Scenic Watershed, the first such designation in the United States for an entire watershed, not just a portion of a river. This designation created the White Clay Creek Wild and Scenic Management Committee that works closely with the National Park Service in protecting all the natural resources within the White Clay Valley.
The White Clay Creek State Park and Preserve will now remain in perpetuity as a natural area. Summer, winter, spring and fall the sights and sounds are there for all to enjoy.
For more information go to http://exhibits.lib.udel.edu/exhibits/show/dorothy_miller
A History of the Bi-State Advisory Council
By Carla Lucas
When the ‘big one’ gets hooked-whether it’s a whooper bass to a fisherman or landing a national account to a businessman-it’s an occasion to remember and celebrate. In the case of the White Clay Valley and a coalition of concerned citizens and conservation groups from Pennsylvania and Delaware the ‘big one’ happened 25 years ago on October 16, 1984 with the donation of 1,762 acres of wilderness along the White Clay Creek from the DuPont Company to public lands in both states.
On October 16, people gathered along the White Clay Creek to witness the exchange of a twig, a clump of turf, and a vile of White Clay Creek water from the DuPont Company to the states of Pennsylvania and Delaware. It was a symbolic gesture, similar to what was presented by the Duke of York to William Penn on his acquisition of Penn’s Woods in 1682. The ceremony marked with certainty the end of the proposed damming of the White Clay Valley and the beginning of a new direction for the lands of the White Clay Valley in both Pennsylvania and Delaware.
The DuPont Company had purchased all but approximately 300 acres of the Valley-up to the 175-foot elevation-in anticipation of needing a new water source in New Castle County. The plan was to dam the White Clay Creek and turn the valley into a reservoir.
DuPont’s lands included about 500 acres in Delaware and the rest in Pennsylvania. By the mid-1970s the water situation was resolved, but DuPont was holding onto the lands, just in case.
“Prior to the donation, we (the conservationists/citizens groups) had been working on (stopping the proposed reservoir) on the White Clay for 20 years.” says Dorothy Miller, of Newark, Delaware, one of the leaders of the citizen’s movement to keep the White Clay Creek from being dammed, “and we’d gotten a number of (small) parcels through state acquisition. Don Sharpe, of Delaware’s United Auto Workers Union, wanted to work on the big one.” The October 16 event was the culmination of this grassroots effort.
“It took a lot of arm twisting to get DuPont to donate the land,” remembers Miller. She credits then Senator Joe Biden’s efforts as the liaison between the conservationists and DuPont as the pivotal element for success. “DuPont realized that since the land was not needed for the reservoir it could donate it to the states,” Miller says. “But it had to be both states. If DuPont donated the 500 acres in Delaware to the Delaware Park system, it would have no use for the 1200 acres in Pennsylvania. Joe was able to negotiate a deal with both states to accept the donation.”
As part of the negotiation process, the various conservation groups involved in the grassroots effort to save the White Clay Valley had put into the resolution/bill of both states the creation of an advisory board to work with the parks departments in both states, “to consider matters related to the restoration and conservation of the preserve.” The advisory board became known as the Bi-State Advisory Council.
“We didn’t want to lose contact,” says Miller on the reason the Bi-State Advisory Council was formed. “We didn’t want the professionals to get a hold of this land without any oversight.”
The Bi-State Advisory Council gets to work
Once the pomp and circumstance and formal ceremonies ended, it was time to get to work. The first meeting of the Bi-State Advisory Council was in November 1984. Miller was elected chairman, Gary Schroeder, vice chairman and Norman Wilder, secretary. Other members included Dr. Bernard Sweeney, William Sellers, Joseph O’Neill, James Hall, Charles Bailey, Jaqueline Peltier, Gordon Woodrow, William Toblin, and Don Sharp.
“We had a blank canvas to work with,” says Schroeder, of Landenberg. “In the beginning we met every month with lots of assignments. It was new and two states were working together to integrate a plan. There were two philosophies, two agencies, and two budgets. We were trying to do something different. This was to be low impact use; a preserve versus a state park.”
“We (the Bi-State Advisory Council) did a lot in the early days,” says Miller. “We helped the states with hostility from the neighbors. The neighbors (bordering the parklands) had issues with hunting and were worried about safety. They were worried about kids partying in parking lots and fought us on some of the parking lot locations.”
In the years before the parks were established, the White Clay valley was used by fishermen, birdwatchers, hikers, mountain bikers, and off-road motorized vehicles. Many of the trails used today were established trails created well before the area was an official park. The White Clay Valley was also known as a party place, as evidenced by the amount of litter and beer bottles along the trails. After the park was dedicated, the staff stopped all motorized vehicles on interior trails, cleaned up the area, and stopped much of the partying. This helped with neighbor relations.
One example of the work done through the Bi-State Advisory Council was along the twisting stretch of London Tract Road, in Landenberg. When DuPont purchased the property (from 175′ in elevation and below) they entered into an agreement where the original owner had timber rights for the land. “If those trees were cut, it could have ruined a beautiful section of the valley,” says Miller. Through talks, the owners agreed to give up timber rights in exchange for the right to put fencing around their remaining property, if desired.
“Gary and I visited quite a few people,” says Miller. “There were a number of contentious things that had to be ironed out. We acted as citizen liaisons. In the end, everyone was happy.”
“We pushed for many years and never took our eyes off the ball,” says Schroeder. “At the core was how a citizens’ advisory board could impose its will on the parks. We stayed true to our philosophy, of course, Dorothy and Don’s vision trumped everyone’s vision. There were lots of philosophical wrestling matches. In the end, we landed in the right place.”
“Stop in. Hike it. See it. Understand it,” encourages Schroeder. “It’s incredible stuff. We need to continue to recognize the need for preserving the natural and cultural resources that have always been there and recognize the White Clay Creek Preserve as the gem it is.”
Bi-State Advisory Council today
As time passed, and the White Clay Creek Preserve and White Clay Creek State Park were developed, the role of the Bi-State Advisory Council lessened. For many years the group met infrequently, as there was little to accomplish.