Heritage areas are an important direction in conservation, as demonstrated by the growth in the number of heritage area initiatives at every level in the U.S. Today, there are 27 congressionally designated heritage areas and corridors, and many proposals for additional national areas. A number of new state heritage programs have joined the established ones in New York and Pennsylvania, and literally hundreds of regional grassroots initiatives are underway across the country.

While the first national heritage area was designated as recently as 1984, the concept of conserving important lived-in regional landscapes—by engaging every level of government and, most critically, the people who live in them—had been under development for over 30 years. These ideas have been tested not just in the U.S., but also in Europe and around the world.

Brenda Barrett, NPS national coordinator for heritage areas, and Nora Mitchell, CSI director, served as guest editors for the June 2003 issue of the George Wright Forum on “Stewardship of Heritage Areas.” These papers examine global trends in conservation stewardship, review the historical development of heritage areas in the U.S., and identify the benefits of this collaborative approach in telling richer stories and tackling daunting preservation projects.