By DAVID HULSE

WASHINGTON DC - Some $900,000 for planning and design of a National Park Service (NPS) visitor center at Mongaup has been approved by Congress.

The money was included in the fiscal year 2001 Department of Transportation Appropriations conference report, Rep. Benjamin Gilman said Friday. The legislation was approved by a voice vote in the House and by a vote of 78 to 10 in the Senate, and will now be sent to the President for his signature.

"The Mongaup Visitor Center will play a vital role in our efforts to preserve the natural resources and heritage of this region for the citizens of both New York and Pennsylvania," Gilman commented.

The property, near the Hawks Nest, is owned by the State of New York's Department of Environmental Conservation and was acquired by the state in 1990 as part of a much larger purchase of an 11,000-acre tract intended to provide habitat for a population of wintering bald eagles.

Some have criticized the spending measure, including Phil Chase and George Frosch of the Upper Delaware Council (UDC), who have complained that the environmentally sensitive Mongaup site should not be further developed and that the level of funding seems to support a much larger center than was originally considered.

Earlier this year, Congressman Gilman convened a meeting with representatives of the UDC, the NPS, Federal Highway Administration and United States Department of Transportation to coordinate the application to the Public Lands Highways Discretionary Program for the planning and design phases for the visitor center's construction. Rep. Gilman worked closely with Rep. Frank Wolf (10th District-VA), Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, to include an earmark for the $900,000 request.

In 1978, Congressman Gilman co-sponsored legislation establishing the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers system. In September of 1987, the Secretary of the Interior signed the area's River Management Plan, which included the construction of the Upper Delaware's primary visitor contact facility. The funding supports the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River Mongaup Visitor Center Act that was sponsored by Gilman and signed into law last year.

New York State legislation authorizing a long-term lease was passed in 1993. A legislative support data package was prepared in1994 for federal legislation authorizing development of the site.

"The Mongaup Visitor Center will provide needed services to motorists entering the Upper Delaware Valley, including restroom facilities, telephones, travelers information services, exhibits on the Upper Delaware region's natural and cultural attractions and a permanent exhibit on the expanding bald eagle population," Rep. Gilman continued. "The visitor center will allow us to strike a balance between regional tourism and private property interests in the region and will provide necessary information on river safety, local business, and recreational opportunities."

The Upper Delaware is a designated national Scenic and Recreational River, with more than 85 percent of the land under private ownership. Each year over 200,000 tourists fish, swim, raft, canoe or kayak the river, hike throughout the surrounding area, visit local historical sites and come to view the bald eagles.