National Heritage Area Public Relations Strategy

"National Heritage Areas: Smart, Green and Working" provides an excellent synopsis of the National Heritage Area movement, according to ANHA Chairman Michelle McCollum. "Not only do we engage in smart growth practices but we also are a smart model for public private partnerships that leverage diverse investment into locally driven initiatives. Heritage areas are also 'green' through our efforts to preserve and adaptively reuse our built environment and to protect and build stewards of our nation’s natural resources while also utilizing those resources as venues for our regions’ economic growth and vitality. And we’re ‘working’ successfully to build coalitions, provide education and training on best practices and to ultimately create jobs," said McCollum.

There is growing evidence of widespread support for National Heritage Areas.

• Congressmen Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) and Paul Tonko (D-NY) are co-chairing the newly formed National Heritage Area Caucus, which already includes 39 members. With 49 existing National Heritage Areas all across the country, the Caucus is expected to keep growing.
• The recently- released “America’s Great Outdoors”—the Obama Administration’s initiative to improve recreational and conservation opportunities for the nation—includes a specific recommendation to make locally-controlled and community-based National Heritage Areas a permanent part of the National Park Service program.

A National Heritage Area is an area that contains historical, cultural, and natural resources that tell the vibrant story of the nation’s evolution and culture. NHA’s expand on traditional approaches to resource stewardship by supporting large-scale, community centered initiatives that connect local citizens to the preservation process.

Through modest federal investment, heritage areas have developed a model that builds sustainable partnerships and leverages significant and diversified investments into the areas they serve. On average, the NHA’s leverage $5.50 for every dollar received by the federal government.