Park service superintendent Forney to retire

By TOM KANE

BEACH LAKE, PA — After a career that spans 32-and-a-half years, National Park Service (NPS) Superintendent of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River David Forney will retire on January 3, 2008.

Before coming to the Upper Delaware in 2002, Forney was the superintendent of the NPS’s Little Rock, Arkansas Central High School Historic Site.

Forney, who received a Bachelors Degree in History and Environmental Science from East Stroudsburg University, began his long career at the NPS Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

Following that, he served at various sites, including the Valley Forge National Historic Park and at the National Mall in Washington, DC.

After taking a few months off, Forney will begin to work on the history of his family in Gettysburg, PA, where the famed battle took place. The Forney Farm was the site where the first day’s fighting took place.

“There’s a lot of history at that site, and I have wanted to write about it for a long time,” Forney said.

After that, he said he will work or volunteer for a non-governmental organization, where he will lend his effort to preserve the environment.

The job of superintendent of the Upper Delaware Recreational and Scenic River, unlike many other sites of the service, is unique because of the park service’s mandate to manage, protect and conserve the valley in cooperation with local zoning and the River Management Plan and not through outright acquisition.

“I feel that the NPS has been a supportive partner and a friend to the communities along the river valley,” he said. “People here recognize that the service has served the valley well and promoted the sustainability of the area, and maintained the high quality of the river’s water.”

He has high hopes for the continued partnership with the communities of the river valley.

“I feel that the service has benefited the local economy by helping to attract a high number of people to visit this uniquely beautiful area,” he said.

Forney will rejoin his family in King of Prussia.