The State of Delaware has announced the expansion of White Clay Creek State Park following the acquisition of 275 acres from local landowners, funded with public and private support totaling $26 million.

The funding includes a $6 million grant from the Mt. Cuba Center, a Wilmington-area nonprofit botanical garden, through the Virginia-based Conservation Fund, and a $500,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Acres for America—a collaboration with Walmart—as well as $19.5 million in public funding provided through the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Open Space program, which has preserved 45,000 acres of private land since 1990.

The latest acquisition—which includes the last major privately owned land surrounded by park property in the region—is being added in three phases. The 3,650-acre park borders Maryland and Pennsylvania, where it connects to that state’s White Clay Creek Preserve.

In addition, Sabrina du Pont-Langenegger and her husband, Conrad Langenegger, gifted a $1.3 million endowment through the Delaware Community Foundation to support Delaware State Parks in tribute to conservationist William K. du Pont.

“The acquisitions will add much-needed open space in one of the fastest growing areas in our region,” said The Conservation Fund senior vice president Blaine Phillips. “It is a testament to Delaware’s long tradition of building partnerships to achieve major conservation outcomes."

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