Upper Housy Heritage Area Passes
September 29, 2006 on 6:33 pm | In Main, Regional |Last night the U.S. Senate passed a bill that included the designation of the Northwest Corner and parts of Berkshire County, Mass., as a national heritage area.
If signed into law by President Bush, the Upper Housatonic National Heritage Area will make the region eligible for about $1 million per year in federal matching grants for historic preservation and environmental protection.
Heritage Area Chairman Ron Jones told me in an email today: “Terry - I just heard that the Senate has passed our bill, S. 203, so we now have our Congressional designation, assuming, of course, that the President does not veto it.”
Of course, Ron was being tongue-in-cheek. Imagine if Bush used this opportunity to issue only the second veto of his presidency. That would put us right up there with stem cell research on his list of betes noires.
At any rate, congratulations are in order to Ron, Ed Kirby and the rest of the gang who made this terrific project possible. Click here to see the heritage area’s website. Click below on the “Read the rest of this entry …” link to see the press release accompanying Ron’s email.
CONGRESS APPROVES NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA DESIGNATION
FOR THE UPPER HOUSATONIC VALLEYThe United States Senate today passed legislation designating 29 Towns in northwestern Connecticut and southwestern Massachusetts as a National Heritage Area. The legislation, having previously been passed by the House of Representatives, will now go to the president for signature.
“The people of this area have worked hard for this,” said Sharon’s Ed Kirby, a director of the management entity, “and it will greatly benefit the whole region. We owe a great deal to Connecticut Congresswoman Nancy Johnson, who led the effort with the strong support of Congressman Olver and our four senators,” added Ron Jones, chairman of the Heritage Area.
Designation will create a federal-local partnership, providing support for celebrating and preserving the region’s cultural, natural and historical heritage. All decisions will be made at the local level and, as provided in the legislation, no private property rights will be affected. Pursuant to earlier legislation, the National Park Service had studied the area and in 2003 found that all criteria for designation had been met. The new area will join with some 25 previously designated heritage areas, including several in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York.
The management not-for-profit entity, Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area, Inc., has already helped spearhead several heritage projects, including an annual October Weekend of Heritage Walks, an African-American Heritage Trail with an accompanying book, an Iron Heritage Trail brochure and a heritage indoctrination course for local teachers.
“We were told early on that if we wanted to be designated a Heritage Area we should start acting like one” noted Dalton’s Steve Sears. With the designation, the NHA will continue to work closely with other local organizations in carrying out the mission.
The quest for designation had broad support throughout the area, including heritage and environmental organizations, local chambers of commerce, local and state governmental officials, schools, businesses and many individuals.
“The region’s heritage is one of our greatest assets,” added Lakeville’s Ward Belcher, “and the designation will not only add to our quality of life but also benefit the economy.”
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Let me preface these comments by saying that I’m the secretary of the UHVNHA board, and have been working for it, with Ron Jones, Ed Kirby, Ward Belcher and others from our area, since its inception. This is a very big and important step for the Northwest Corner, and the adjoining areas of Massachusetts; by having this designation, we will be able to bring some millions of dollars in federal funds to assist local historical societies, natural resources organizations, and other non-profits, for years to come.
Another important thing for people to know is how hard our elected representatives have worked for this, especially Nancy Johnson and Joe Lieberman. The bills in House and Senate were sponsored, respectively, by the Berkshire rep, a fairly liberal Democrat, and by Mrs. Johnson, a fairly conservative Republican, and by all four senators from the two states, all of whom are Democrats, which made passage by the Republican-controlled Congress anything but easy.
We should also not forget, at this time, that the impetus for the UHVNHA came from initial work done by Mike and Gabriel Seymour in the late 1990s.
Since then, the UHVNHA has been operating in the public interest, putting together annual walks, festivals, courses for teachers, and a spectacular African-American Heritage Trail. We hope, with designation and what will follow,to do still more, and we invite everyone’s participation.
Comment by Tom Shachtman — September 29, 2006 #
Hooray!!! On behalf of the Falls Village-Canaan Historical Society, I want to say a big thank you to all who helped bring this about. I have personally seen how hard Ron & Ed have worked on this venture, and I thank them for all they have done. All of us will benefit in this area from this designation.
Comment by Judy Jacobs — September 29, 2006 #
Congratulations to all of you who have worked so hard for so many years - since the late 1990s, as Tom Shachtman notes. Didn’t know the Seymours were the impetus - kudos to them for it, this was a great idea that’s finally become a reality. It’s refreshing to know that our legislators can come together and agree on a project, making a bipartisan effort lead to the passing of a bill that will so clearly benefit an entire region. We’ll all look forward to seeing the results as the years go by. And, the Heritage Walks, which are coming up, will take on a whole new meaning of celebration this year!
Comment by Janet Manko — September 29, 2006 #