national heritage areas: places on the land, places in the ...blackstone river valley national...

O ver time, f u n d i n g , s u p p o r t , a n drecognition for these special regions havebeen sought from the national, state, andlocal leve l . The National Pa rk Service(NPS) assists a collection of twenty-seven1

co n g re s s i o n a l ly designated national her-itage areas (along with many other areas thathave sought NPS aid). While these twenty-seven areas do not represent the full rangeof possible heritage initiatives, they offer agood starting point to examine the demo-graphic and geographic factors that haveserved as the cradles of heritage area devel-opment.

Water and waterwaysThe earliest NPS designations—

Illinois & Michigan Canal NationalH e r i t a ge Corridor, John H. C h a f e eBlackstone River Valley National HeritageCorridor (Figure 1), and Delawa re andLehigh National Heritage Corridor—start-

ed with a working waterway as an organiz-ing principle. The National Park Service,with its conservation mission, its historicpreservation program, and the more recentco m m u n i t y-based Rive rs , Trails andConservation Assistance (RTCA) program,was a natural partner.2 These corridors allcontain the remains of historic canals andother waterpower systems from an earlierage. These regional resources had alreadyattracted the interest and support of theadjacent communities and affinity groups.Watercourses are also the centerpieces ofmany of the more recent national heritageareas; for example, Hudson River ValleyNational Heritage Area, Schuylkill RiverValley National Heritage Area (Figure 2),and Yuma Crossing National Heritage Areaon the Arizona–California border that fea-tures the Colorado River with a story oftransportation and irrigation (Figure 3).

River corridors and canals often flow

The George Wright Forum10

Conservation Practice at the Landscape Scale

National Heritage Areas:Places on the Land, Places in the Mind

Brenda Barrett

IntroductionHERITAGE AREAS ARE NOT A NATIONAL PARK SERVICE DESIGNATION. The development of aheritage area initiative is a locally driven strategy by which a region identifies its common val-ues and its heritage. This strategy is distinguished by its collaborative nature, working acrossboundaries both political and disciplinary, to create a common vision for a region based onits shared heritage. It gives residents of a region a sense that they can determine the future,and that it will be a more valuable future if it builds on the past and includes the landmarksand stories that gives the place a sense of continuity. Heritage areas may encompass water-sheds, regional landscapes with a distinctive culture, and political subdivisions, but whatev-er the underlying heritage values, they are first understood and mapped in the minds of thepeople who live there.

across jurisdictions and require intergov-ernmental cooperation. Waterways are pow-erful attractions as they offer recreationalamenities for walking, boating, and contem-plation. Through heritage areas, communi-ties are rediscovering waterways in theirbackyards and turning them from pollutedbackwaters into focal points for fun andlearning.

Relict lifewaysNot every heritage area has a water-

course, but all are working landscapes and

almost all are communities that are understress. They are places that are losing orhave lost their traditional economic baseand are facing a loss of population, particu-larly young people. Many areas have the his-toric infra s t r u c t u re of extinct or dy i n gindustries or long-outmoded transportationsystems, and some still bear the scars ofresource extraction. Quinebaug and She-tucket Rivers Valley National Corridor has awealth of textile mills, most still magnificentand most still underutilized. Essex NationalHeritage Area interprets the long-past age

of sail and the troubled fishingindustry of this part of the NewEngland Coast. S e ve ral are a sa re not just wo rking land-s c a p e s , but wo rked-out land-scapes, like those areas that tellthe heritage of anthracite coalmining in the Lackawanna Val-ley in Pennsylvania and bitumi-nous coal mining in the south-ern part of West Virginia. Riversof Steel focuses on the Pitts-burgh steel story and hopes topreserve a few landmark fur-naces of what were once milesof mills on the banks of thet h ree rive rs ’ n av i gational sys-tem. Only the Automobile Na-tional Heritage Area, represent-ed by the “MotorCities” regionin Michiga n , and Silos andS m o kestacks in northeaste r nIowa, still have a strong eco-nomic reliance on the tradition-al industries of the region.3

The power of peopleNPS has defined a national

heritage area as “a place wherenatural, cultural, historic, and

Volume 22 • Number 1 (2005) 11


Figure 1. Mill in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, along the Blackstone River Valley.Photo courtesy of Natural Heritage Areas Office, National Park Service

scenic resources combine to form a cohe-sive, nationally distinctive landscape arisingfrom patterns of human activity shaped bygeography. These patterns make nationalheritage areas representative of the nationalexperience through the physical featuresthat remain and the traditions that evolve inthem.”4 This definition is poetic and hasbeen very useful, but it does not placeenough emphasis on the key ingredient: thepeople that live there. Most heritage areasare driven by the commitment of local resi-dents, many of whom have deep roots in theregion. They are often people who haveparents and grandparents with a stake in thet raditional industries or lifeways of theregion. Many areas still have a few craftsmenand women who carry on traditional tradesand professions. Many communities stillsponsor traditional regional ce l e b ra t i o n s

and festivals. Many residents can still readthe landscape, whether to identify a coaltipple and a breaker, or to tell the differencebetween wheat and alfalfa. However, theyare not so sure that their children will havethis knowledge or be able to participate inthis culture, or that the familiar landmarksthat define the region will be around in thefuture.

Using the NPS definition, many out-standing cultural landscapes would clearlyqualify for national heritage area designa-tion. Examples could include the archetyp-al landscapes of New England, ranchingvistas in the West, the rolling fields andprairie remnants of the Central Plains, andthe lush agricultural valleys in the North-west. But heritage areas don’t come togeth-er solely based on the significance of thelandscape and its special chara c te r i s t i c s .



Figure 2. Kayakers exploring during the Schuylkill River Sojourn, Schuylkill River National Heritage Area. Photo courtesy ofDan Creighton

Heritage areas emerge where people worktogether to create a strategy to tackle theissues of shifting economies, homogeniza-t i o n , and indiffere n ce . While heritagetourism may ultimately be an outcome, her-i t a ge areas are primarily focused onaddressing the needs of the local communi-ty first. Perhaps that is why most heritagea reas begin with educational pro g ra m sabout local history and efforts to make thelandmarks and landscape accessible to thepeople who live there. It should be no sur-prise that some of the most innovative her-itage education programs in the nation arefound in heritage areas. In the LackawannaValley National Heritage Area, for example,children interview grandparents about thepast and script radio shows based on thesestories. Selected stories are then broadcaston a local commercial radio station.5 TheRivers of Steel National Heritage Area has a

cultural conservation program that offersapprenticeships in traditional music andc ra f t s , folklorist residencies focusing oncontemporary living traditions, and a refer-ral program for folk and traditional artists.6

To reach across a large geographic areaencompassing 37 counties in Iowa, Silosand Smokestacks has developed a we b -based program on the region’s farming her-itage called “Camp Silos.” Visitors learnabout the agricultural heritage of the region,and can watch the birth of baby piglets, orco n te m p l a te a growing cornfield on the“corn cam.”7

Common questions about heritageareas

As of early 2005, Congress has desig-nated twenty-seven national heritage areas,placing them in the portfolio of the NationalPark Service. There are also over a dozen



Figure 3. Aerial view of the wetlands, Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area. Photo courtesy of National Heritage Areas Office, NationalPark Service

new proposals still awaiting action byCongress. Overworked NPS and congres-sional staffers facing yet another heritagearea proposal sometimes ask: How did allthese communities find out about heritagearea designation? Who told them about thisidea?8 How did so many communities comeup with the idea to establish a heritage area?And even more importantly, Why did theycome up with this idea? And finally, What isthe role of NPS?

Let’s start with the last question first.What is the role of the NPS in the nationalheritage areas program? First and foremost,national heritage areas are about partner-ships, and in recent years the National ParkS e r v i ce has incre a s i n g ly re cognized thevalue of a partnership approach to resourcemanagement. The days when national parkswere scenic wonders carved out of the pub-lic estate are long past. From the time whenthe national park idea migrated back East,the agency worked in partnership with oth-ers in a more complex and peopled environ-m e n t . C o n c u r re n t ly, the NPS missionexpanded to include historic birthplaces,battlefields, wild and scenic rivers, placesoffering outstanding recreational opportu-nities close to the large centers of popula-t i o n , and partnership parks where theagency owns little or no land. These newerpark models, in particular, have brought theagency into closer and closer contact withnew neighbors who often have their ownideas on the appropriate goals for a parkunit.9

Constituent communities demandingthat NPS expand its reach to assist in thepreservation of resources that the commu-nities deem important is not new. Many ofthe more recent models of national parkshave not come from NPS carefully expand-ing its “product line,” but from congres-

sional action in response to co m m u n i t ydemands. So on one level the question ofhow did NPS get into the heritage area busi-ness is clear. Congress acted and NPS react-ed. The continued interest in national her-itage area designation has stimulated bothco n g re s s i o n a l1 0 and administration atte n-t i o n . In May 2004, NPS Dire c tor Fra nMainella assigned the National Park SystemAdvisory Board responsibility for reviewingthe National Heritage Area Program andmaking recommendations for the appropri-ate role of NPS.11

Although it is clear that NPS needs toprovide a clearer definition of its role inassisting national heritage areas, this under-standing does not answer the first questionposed above , n a m e ly, W hy have ce r t a i nregions coalesced around their shared her-itage, overcome conventional boundaries,a n d , a gainst co n s i d e rable odds, f o r m e dwo rking partnerships? And then aske dNPS to be a partner, while making it clearthey are not turning the responsibility orthe resource over to the federal governmentto manage. Unlike other groups that seekNPS assistance to “save ” a significantresource or “provide” a certain natural orrecreational experience, the heritage areamovement only asks that NPS be a partnerin an enterprise that is usually well on itsway. The National Park Service’s role is tooffer assistance in management planning,interpretation, and resource preservation,and, of course, to provide funding.

Opportunities for resource conservationFrom the NPS viewpoint, national her-

itage areas provide real value. Heritage areasare a cost-effective way to preserve national-ly important natural, cultural, historic, andrecreational resources through the creationof a working partnership between federal,



state, and local groups.12 Through partner-ships, heritage areas are tackling the conser-vation of resources that NPS has not beenable to address. People in heritage areas areworking to preserve large-scale industrials i tes such as the Carrie Fu r n a ces inP i t t s b u r g h , all that remain of the once -mighty Homestead Steel works, and theautomobile story in the MotorCities regionof Michigan.13 Heritage areas also help toco o rd i n a te the efforts of many smallergroups to conserve the components thatdefine a larger landscape. Heritage areasopen doors to recreational experiences thatwere previously unknown or underappreci-ated. They bring the past alive with educa-tional programs and festivals, and train thenext generation of culture bearers. Finally,heritage areas set a stewardship vision thatplaces history and nature in a landscapecontext, helping people to see both the her-itage and the future in their own backyards.

Opportunities for community renewalThe reasons why certain areas travel

this partnership path perhaps may be foundby examining the characteristics of theseareas. Of the twenty-seven national heritageareas, most are regions in transition, andchange is stressful to people and to the com-munities in which they live. Many designat-ed areas are places where the economicfoundation of the area—whether industrialor agricultural—is collapsing. These areasa re often depopulating and losing theiryoung people, or repopulating with aninflux of new people who have not shared inthe heritage of the region. They are commu-nities that are facing an uncertain future.

While more work needs to be done,preliminary analysis of the demographics ofnational heritage areas seems to confirmthat these are areas that are undergoing

change, and not always in a positive way.14

On average, national heritage areas haveexperienced lower population growth com-pared with the states they are located in andwith the nation as a whole. National her-itage areas have large populations of per-sons over 65, and all but four (two of whichinclude the younger urban populations inChicago and Detroit) have an elderly popu-lation higher than the national ave ra ge .National heritage areas have a medianhousehold income that is, on ave ra ge ,$1,530 lower than the state median and$2,200 less than the national householdincome.

Since heritage areas coalesce aroundplaces of history—particularly places thatwe re once dependent on now obsoletet ransportation sys te m s , ex t ra c t ive indus-tries, and redundant agricultural and manu-facturing economies—the above demo-graphic and economic conditions are notunexpected. As the demand for these out-moded systems and their products decline,and when communities are bound to placeby infrastructure, transportation, and powerand availability of natural resources, thenthe economic viability of the area maydecline. Unless new opportunities arise, theyoung people will leave, the birth rate willd ro p , and the resident population willbecome older and older. For example, inPennsylvania, a state once known for itsdominance in manufacturing and extractiveindustries, the number of children underage five has been falling for a decade, ando n ly Florida has an older population.1 5

Pennsylvania also has the most national her-itage areas (six designations) and strongstate heritage regions program (twelve des-ignations).

This correlation with regional changedoes not conclusively answer the question



of why these regions develop heritage initia-tives as a response to the stress of economicor community dislocation. However, onetheory first proposed by NPS plannerswo rking on the L ow Country GullahCulture Special Resource Study16 is that her-itage-based initiatives may be a version ofwhat anthropologists call a “revitalizationmovement.”

This concept was first described byAnthony Wallace in 1956.17 He posited thatunder normal societal conditions the exist-ing institutions meet the needs of the com-m u n i t y. H owe ve r, if a society is place dunder stress, for example through domina-tion by a more powerful group, or as in her-itage areas by community and economicdislocation, then a revitalization movementmay emerge as a response. Revitalizationmovements are an attempt by the communi-ty to construct a more satisfactory culturalenvironment, often drawing on what is seenas valuable about the past. They propose torevive portions of traditional culture andcombine them with new elements to meetthe future. While Wallace noted that manyrevitalization movements are based on reli-gious principles, he also notes that secularrevitalization movements seem to be morecommon in the worldlier twentieth century.He also states that the success of such initia-tives depends upon their relative “realism”and the amount of consensus or oppositionthey encounter.

Now it may be a bit extreme to com-

pare the flourishing heritage area movementacross the country to such phenomena asthe revival of Ghost Dances of the PlainsIndians or the rituals of the UnificationChurch. People in heritage areas drive late-model cars, go to ball games, and shop instrip malls. In fact, they are very much likeus and, in some cases, they are us. Yet howdo we explain the emergence of heritageareas as an idea or “phenomenon,” and howso many communities seem to have simulta-neously discovered the concept and invent-ed its core principles of partnership andplanning around the values of shared her-itage. Perhaps it is enough for now to acceptit as an outward manifestation of a renewalof the spirit of place with goals of educatingthe next generation, enlightening visitors,and strengthening the physical and socialfabric of the region. However, as the num-ber of areas proposed for designation multi-p ly, the National Pa rk Service and theNational Heritage Areas Program are chal-lenged to demonstrate the value of the fed-eral government’s investment and to betterdefine what co n s t i t u tes succe s s . T h eu p coming report by the National Pa rkSystem Advisory Board on the Future of theNational Heritage Areas in the NationalPark System may help define how the pro-gram fits into the nation’s larger conserva-tion mission, and perhaps will redefine howNPS interacts with the communities thatmake so many of those conservation stew-ardship decisions on the ground.



This paper was presented at the Conservation Lecture Series, co-sponsored by the NPSConservation Study Institute and the Rubenstein School of the Environment and NaturalResources, University of Vermont, on October 14, 2003.

Endnotes1. A list of the twenty-seven National Heritage Areas can be found on the National Park

Service website at www.cr.nps.gov/heritageareas (retrieved January 5, 2005).

2. The National Historic Preservation Act was passed in 1966, the National Scenic TrailsAct in 1968, and the Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) Program wasdeveloped in the early 1980s; all expanded the work of NPS outside of the boundariesof national park units.

3. For more information on the twenty-seven National Heritage Areas, their historicalthemes and resources, see www.cr.nps.gov/heritageareas.

4. This definition was articulated by Denis P. Galvin, former deputy director of NPS, intestimony before the House Resources Subcommittee on National Parks and PublicLands on October 26, 1999. This definition and other suggested criteria for nationalheritage areas can be found at www.cr.nps.gov/heritageareas/ (retrieved February 26,2004).

5. Information on the educational programs developed by the Lackawanna Valley NationalHeritage Area is available at www.lhva.org/MENUeducation.htm (retrieved February26, 2004).

6. Information on the programs of the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area is available atwww.riversofsteel.com/culturalconservation.asp (retrieved February 26, 2004).

7. Information on the pro g rams of Silos and Smokestacks is available atwww.silosandsmokestacks.org/3fun/index.html (retrieved February 26, 2004). “Corncam” refers to a remote camera located in an agricultural field that provides videofootage of harvest activities to an interpretive site.

8. By the second session of the 108th Congress, members had introduced designation billsfor sixteen new areas and study bills for nine new areas.

9. A discussion of the historical development of the heritage areas idea and the variety ofunits in the NPS is provided in Brenda Barrett, “Roots for the heritage area family tree,”The George Wright Forum 20(2): 41–49 (2003); also see Branching Out: Approaches inNational Park Service Stewardship (Fort Washington, Pa.: Eastern National, 2003).

10. During the 108th Congress, Senator Craig Thomas, Chair of the Subcommittee onNational Parks, convened two oversight hearings on national heritage areas, held a two-day legislative workshop, and ordered the Government Accountability Office (GAO) toreview specific program issues. The GAO report, titled The National Park Service: AMore Systematic Process for Establishing National Heritage Areas and Actions to Improvetheir Accountability is Needed (GAO-04-593T), is available at www.gao.gov (retrievedJanuary 2, 2005).

11. The chair of the National Park System Advisory Board, Doug Wheeler, asked boardmember Jerry Hruby to undertake a review of the National Heritage Area Program aspart of the work of the Board’s Partnership Committee. A series of meetings have beenconvened and recommendations will be presented to the Advisory Board at itsspring/summer meeting in 2005.

12. A March 2003 survey by the National Park Service estimated that the national heritageareas leverage eight dollars to every dollar allocated by NPS.

13. Constance C. Bodurow, “A vehicle for conserving and interpreting our recent industri-al heritage,” The George Wright Forum 20(2): 68–88 (2003).

14. The information in the following section is based on an unpublished analysis of 1990



and 2000 census data by Suzanne Copping; see www.census.gov/population/cen2000/for regional population statistics.

15. Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy, Back to Prosperity: ACompetitive Agenda for Renewing Pennsylvania (Washington, D.C.: The BrookingsInstitution, 2003).

16. National Park Service, Low Country Gullah Culture Special Resource Study, PublicReview Draft (Atlanta: NPS Southeast Region, 2003).

17. A n t h o ny Wa l l a ce , “Revitalization move m e n t s ,” American Anthro p o lo g i s t , 5 8 ( 2 ) :264–281 (1956).

Brenda Barrett, National Park Service, 1849 C. Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20240; [email protected]



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