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The clipper ship
Pride of Baltimore II, photo by Bill McAllen
A traditional
Shaker Barn in the Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area. Photo Credit:
Massachusetts DCNR
Elvis Presley
Birthplace in the Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area. Photo
Credit: Tupelo Convention and Visitors Bureau
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Heritage
Area News
Congress
Designates Nine New National Heritage Areas
On March 30th,
2009 President Obama signed the Omnibus Public Lands Management
Act of 2009 into law. This landmark piece of conservation legislation
designated nine National Heritage Areas, (NHA) bringing the total
to 49 NHAs in 32 states. The new areas encompass a wide range of
landscapes, stretching from the Delta of Mississippi to the Kenai
Mountains of Alaska. Rich in history and culture, the stories of
each NHA add depth and diversity to our country's shared narrative.
Below is a brief introduction to each of these nationally distinctive
regions:
Baltimore
National Heritage Area (MD) - Located in Maryland's largest
city, Baltimore NHA includes a diverse array of urban neighborhoods,
historic sites and natural resources, including the shoreline of
the Patapsco River. The NHA was also certified as a Maryland State
Heritage Area in 2001.
Freedom's Way National
Heritage Area (MA & NH) - Encompassing land in two states,
New Hampshire and Massachusetts, Freedom's Way NHA is about beginnings
- of the America Revolution and of our concepts of liberty, freedom
and land use. The region has produced a great number of nationally
renowned patriots, writers, environmentalists, thinkers, and visionaries.
Kenai Mountains - Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area (AK)
- Alaska's first NHA celebrates the natural beauty, cultural traditions
and rich history of this mountain corridor. The stories and experiences
of Native Alaskans, Russians, explorers, gold miners and settlers
are visible upon the landscape and interpreted in five community
museums.
Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area (MS) - Encompassing
all Mississippi counties that contain land in the great alluvial
floodplain of the Mississippi river, the area known as "The
Birthplace of the Blues" is home to a rich culture and history.
Much of our modern American culture has its roots in the Delta,
a region that played a pivotal role in the early civil rights movement.
Mississippi Hills National
Heritage Area (MS) - Thirty counties, in the northeastern
part of the Magnolia state, are included in this NHA. The Mississippi
Hills region represents a distinct cultural landscape shaped by
the dynamic intersection of Appalachian and Delta cultures. Lasting
contributions to our country's musical and literary legacies were
forged by Hills' natives Elvis Presley, William Faulkner, Tennessee
Williams, Howlin' Wolf and others.
Muscle
Shoals National Heritage Area (AL) - This river valley
in Northwest Alabama covers 6 counties and includes the Wilson Dam
along the Tennessee River. Associated with the distinctive "Muscle
Shoals" musical sounds, the area also includes the W.C. Handy
home and the birthplace of Helen Keller.
Northern Plains
National Heritage Area (ND) - North Dakota's first NHA follows
the length of the Missouri River, an area farmed and settled by
Mandan and Hidatsa people and later traveled by the Lewis and Clark
expedition. Within the Heritage Area there is a National Historic
Site, an interpretive center, and a state park.
Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area (CO) - Alamosa, Conejos
and Costilla Counties in the San Luis Valley of Colorado form this
new NHA. Recognized as a confluence of American Indian, Latino and
Anglo cultures, the region also includes the Monte Vista National
Wildlife refuge and the Great Dunes National Park and Preserve,
home to the largest sand dunes in North America.
South Park National Heritage Area (CO) - Home to a rich mining
history as well as some of the most spectacular mountain scenery
in the country, South Park NHA is located in central Colorado. The
region supports 19 working ranches along 30 miles of stream corridor
and 17,000 acres of wetlands and agricultural lands in the headwaters
of the South Platte River.
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Charles Flynn,
Executive Director of the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area shares
his perspective on NHA's in the Western U.S.
Read an interview
with Chuck Arning, Park Ranger John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley
Heritage Corridor
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