Books for the Nature Lover in Your Life

Europeans first settled in what was to become the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (DWGNRA) in the 17th century. By the late 1800s, the Delaware Water Gap had become a popular vacation spot, attracting thousands to the palatial resorts in the mountains. Rural communities thrived in the valley until the 1960s. The DWGNRA was created in 1965 to oversee activities centered around a reservoir that was to be the result of a dam to be built on the Delaware River at Tocks Island. In anticipation of the dam, the government removed residents by purchasing or condemning property. An environmental and political war raged, and the dam was ultimately defeated. Although several historical sites were lost, many survived and a few have been restored. Today the DWGNRA is one of the country's most popular parks. Within its boundaries are rugged and beautiful wilderness, historic landmarks, and the wild and scenic Delaware River.

Founded in 1895, the Essex County Park Commission was the first county park system in the nation. That year, the commission began its management of Eagle Rock. The reservation was designed by renowned architect Frederick Law Olmsted Sr., who also designed Central Park in New York City and the Capitol Grounds in Washington, D.C. Evident characteristics of the architect within the park are the winding roads, natural blended waterways, open fields, and overlooks, all of which combine to attract thousands of visitors each year. Eagle Rock Reservation explores many interesting and little-known facts about the park. Readers are introduced to Llewellyn Haskell, the founder of nearby Llewellyn Park, who first purchased land at Eagle Rock. Seen is the trolley that once served Eagle Rock as it emerged as a popular resort area. Included are the park's view of the New York City skyline and the Hundred Steps to Eagle Rock, the same steps that were ascended by visitors nearly one hundred years ago. Also seen is a never-before-published lab note written by Thomas Edison, documenting World War I experiments he conducted for the U.S. Navy at Eagle Rock.

Perched atop the Kittatinny Mountains, in the northwestern corner of New Jersey, is one of the most beautiful parks in the state. High Point State Park is visited by thousands annually, and from the highest peak in New Jersey one can see three states and enjoy a vista for miles around. This park, one of the oldest in the state, has a rich history going back more than seventy-five years.

High Point State Park and the Civilian Conservation Corps explores the history of the fascinating landmark, which was a gift of Colonel Anthony and Susie Kuser to the people of New Jersey in 1923. The famed landscape firm Olmsted Brothers of Brookline, Massachusetts, was retained to design the park's facilities. The job of carrying out many of the proposals in the plan fell to the Civilian Conservation Corps, a Depression-era federal agency that combined work relief efforts with conservation work. The laborers, known as the CCC boys, developed the layout of the park from 1933 to 1941. Much of their work remains and is still used by visitors today.

Hacklebarney and Voorhees State Parks recounts the history of two beautiful natural sanctuaries at the southwestern end of New Jersey's Highlands. Managed as a single unit by the state park service, the two parks are Hacklebarney, 977 acres along the Black River corridor, and Voorhees, 640 acres of gently rolling farmland. Their stories are similar: both parks were created in the 1920s on privately donated land and were developed by the federally operated Civilian Conservation Corps. With more than two hundred unique photographs, many published here for the first time, Hacklebarney and Voorhees State Parks shows life at the CCC camps, the building of trails and roads by hand, and the repair of forests.