On August 12, 2020 at 11a.m. the Somerset County Park Commission (NJ) will have an emergency meeting to discuss restricting access within 100 ft of all waterways within Washington Valley Park, aka Chimney Rock Park.  This will make it an act of trespassing to use more than 40% of the existing trails within the park. This includes the scenic trails surrounding the reservoir for hiking, biking and fishing, as well as additional trails within the park near tributaries, rivers, and bridges. This also impacts Chimney Rock sports fields for baseball, basketball, tennis and the frisbee golf course, as well as the well-known Buttermilk Falls waterfalls.

This petition is to stop SCPC from abruptly closing this under-discussed, non-researched level of public access to taxpayer-funded trails, amid a global pandemic where access to open outdoor recreation is paramount to maintaining public health and giving citizens the highly recommended option of staying outdoors vs. indoors.

Please sign and share! If you have a minute please also reach out via email or phone to the Parks Commission via the information below to voice your concern over this restriction of trail access and its negative impact on public health, safe outdoor recreation options for children and adults, county property values, and undue punishment for all the residents who have spent decades respectfully maintaining and loving this trail system.

Contact: Geoffrey D. Soriano, Secretary Director SCPC - 908-722-1200 ext. 5237
gsoriano@scparks.org

Formal SCPC announcement attached. Note that complaints have been received by SCPC for years regarding the illegal cliff jumping, and rangers were never visibly active in the park (outside of their vehicles and actively patrolling). Preventative measures and proactive additions to protocol can easily avoid this extreme response.