The Delaware Department of Natural Resources announced an addition to White Clay Creek State Park and a new superintendent.
White Clay, one of the most popular state parks, is located in rolling countryside near Newark.
Named superintendent was Lee who was previously superintendent of Auburn Valley State Park. She helped to develop the park since its dedication as the newest state park in 2018.
Lee started her State Parks career in 1991 at Fort Delaware, where she worked as both a seasonal interpreter and a cultural resources assistant.
She then served as director of the Iron Hill Museum from 1995 to 2008, before returning to the DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation as the interpretive program manager at Fort Delaware and then moving on to Auburn Valley State Park.
DNREC also announced the addition of 32 acres to White Clay along the Route 896 side of the park; the acreage is comprised of mature forest, meadow and agricultural lands near the Krantz Hill Farm and will protect wildlife habitats. The newly acquired land was funded with approximately $2.6 million from the Delaware Open Space Program (OSP) making it the largest land acquisition for the state park since 2003.
The Delaware Open Space Council recommended the land for acquisition in its June 2019 meeting. Since 1988, the council has provided nearly $62 million to add 2,210.7 acres to White Clay Creek State Park through open space preservation.