Governor closes state, county parks and forests amid pandemic
West Milford. Wawayanda State Park, Long Pond Ironworks State Park, Abram S. Hewitt State Forest and Norvin Green State Forest are located in West Milford and were closed effective April 7 at 8 p.m.
| 08 Apr 2020 | 11:10
Wawayanda State Park, like all other state and county parks, has been closed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced all state parks and forests in the state will be closed, along with all county parks, to support social distancing measures during the coronavirus pandemic. He issued Executive Order 118 on Monday, April 7.
Wawayanda State Park, Long Pond Ironworks State Park, Abram S. Hewitt State Forest and Norvin Green State Forest are located in West Milford and were closed effective April 7 at 8 p.m.
“My Administration’s top priority is to flatten the curve of new COVID-19 cases, so we do not create a surge within our health care systems and overwhelm the health care professionals who are managing our response on the frontlines,” said Murphy when issuing the order. “We have seen far too many instances in our parks where people are gathering and socializing in groups and by closing these areas, we are further limiting public interactions to only the most essential purposes. Data shows that our aggressive efforts to flatten the curve are beginning to make a difference; however, we must continue our push to flatten it to the point where our day-over-day increase is zero.”
Mayor Michele Dale included the governor’s announcement on her Facebook page. Most residents who commented lamented the closures, although some agreed it was necessary.
“This doesn’t really make any sense to me. I go hiking with my family every week and hardly ever see people. If it’s not a common area it’s not crowded. Use your brains, if you see somewhere looks busy, then don’t go there. There are hundreds of trails up here,” said one resident.
“That’s because people cannot maintain proper social distancing! They ruined it for everyone,” noted another resident.
Municipalities still have the authority to keep municipal parks open or closed. Mayor Michele Dale said she there have been complaints about people in town parks but she is not closing them as of Wednesday morning.
“We have had complaints of the parks and residents not social distancing,” said Dale. “I do not plan on closings the parks as of right now. The police department will be increasing patrol, and issuing summonses if appropriate. I will reevaluate this decision daily.”
- Linda Smith Hancharick