Call for action: Contact your Legislator

On March 20th, 2024, WCPA President Ken Ritchey testified before the NJ State Assembly about conditions in our State Park. Now it’s your turn!

Check out the slide show at right to see how bad things are. Historic buildings and structures are disintegrating. The Park is choked with invasive plants and dead ash trees. And despite Park staff’s best efforts, tornado damage still litters the area around the Continental Trail.

Park staff are doing the best they can with limited resources, but it’s important to note that during the 1976 Bicentennial, the Park employed more than 40 people. As the 250th approaches, they are operating with only three full-time maintenance employees, who are shared with three other sites!

We ask that you please contact your legislator and demand that Governor Murphy budget at least $65 million to repair and upgrade State Parks-owned American Revolution sites.

HERE’S HOW:

Visit this Legislative Roster Link and use the drop down menu in the upper right to identify your municipality. When you get the list of your representatives:

  1. Click on the envelope icon on the left column.

  2. Under Legislators to Contact Click all three boxes.

  3. Subject drop-down box, select "Historic Preservation"

  4. Under Affiliation, type "Washington Crossing Park Association"

  5. In the Relationship box, type "member" or "supporter"

  6. Under "Please Type Your Message" Subject, type "Heritage Tourism"

  7. Type a brief letter requesting that your legislators support our parks.

All of our state parks require assistance, but Washington Crossing State Park in particular serves as a rich repository for the ideals of our national identity. Money is needed to make it more welcoming and accessible to everyone in preparation for the 250th.

GOT TIME FOR ONE MORE?

Send a copy of that letter to Shawn LaTourette, New Jersey’s Commissioner of Environmental Protection:

Shawn M. LaTourette, Commissioner
401 E. State St.
7th Floor, East Wing
P.O. Box 402
Trenton, NJ 08625-0402

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP IN THIS IMPORTANT MATTER,
Annette C. Earling, President