WHAT ARE THE NATIONAL HERITAGE AREAS?

National Heritage Areas are designated by Congress as places where natural, cultural, and historic resources combine to form a cohesive, nationally important landscape that celebrates our nation’s diverse heritage. NHAs are lived-in landscapes that through collaboration with communities provide assistance in determining how to make heritage relevant to local interests and needs. NHA’s are grassroots, community-driven approach to heritage conservation and economic development. Through public-private partnerships, NHA entities support historic preservation, natural resource conservation, recreation, heritage tourism, and educational projects. Leveraging funds and long-term support for projects, NHA partnerships foster pride of place and an enduring stewardship ethic.

WHEN WAS THE NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA PROGRAM CREATED?

Congress designated the first heritage area on August 24, 1984, to the Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor. As of 2025, Congress has established sixty-two (62) NHAs to commemorate, conserve, and promote areas that include important natural, scenic, historic, cultural, and recreational resources that form distinctive landscapes. Congress has established heritage areas for lands that are regarded as distinctive because of their resources, their built environment, and the culture and history associated with these areas and their residents. A principal distinction of these areas is an emphasis on the interaction of people and their environment. Heritage areas seek to tell the story of the people, over time, where the landscape helped shape the traditions of the residents.

HOW IS THE NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA PROGRAM FUNDED?

Congress typically determines federal funding for NHAs in annual appropriations laws for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. NHAs can use federal funds for staffing, planning, and projects.

Congressionally authorized NHA entities are eligible to receive funding through the Heritage Partnership Program Fund. Funds are distributed to NHA entities through cooperative agreements.

THE NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA DESIGNATION FOLLOWS A TWO-STEP PROCESS

1. The completion of a feasibility study

   The National Park Service (NPS) recommends that community members or organizations interested in National Heritage Area (NHA) designation undertake a feasibility study (rather than completing an application or nomination) to assess whether (1) the landscape has an assemblage of natural, cultural, historic and scenic resources that, when linked together, tell a nationally important story; (2) opportunities exist for increasing public access to and understanding of contributing natural, cultural, and historic resources; (3) an organization exists that has the financial and organizational capacity to coordinate heritage area activities; and (4) support for NHA designation exists within the region. NHA feasibility studies can be prepared by community members, a consultant, or the NPS.

2. The introduction of authorizing legislation

   The United States Congress designates regions of the country as National Heritage Areas. The NPS, as the federal body charged with managing the NHA program, frequently testifies as to whether or not a region has the resources and local financial and organizational capacity to carry out the responsibilities that come with a designation.

WHAT IS THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE?

The National Park Service is a bureau of the Department of the Interior and operations are overseen by the Departments Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks. NPS was created by an act signed by President Woodrow Wilson on August 25, 1916. Yellowstone National Park is the nation’s first national park.

The arrowhead was authorized as the official National Park Service emblem by the Secretary of the Interior on July 20, 1951. The components of the arrowhead may have been inspired by key attributes of the National Park System, with the sequoia tree and bison representing vegetation and wildlife, the mountains and water representing scenic and recreational values, and the arrowhead itself representing historical and archeological values.

WHO IS THE REGIONAL PROGRAM COORDINATOR?

National Heritage Area Program Coordinator Southeast Region: 

States served: AL, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN

Elisa Kunz, National Heritage Areas Program Manager

Southeast Regional Office 

100 Alabama Street SW – 1924 Building Atlanta, GA 30303 

Email: eliza_kunz@nps.gov

Phone: 404-507-5821

ACRONYMS

NPS – National Park Service

NHA – National Heritage Area

SHPO – State Historic Preservation Officer

THPO – Tribal Historic Preservation Officer

NRHP – National Register of Historic Places

MGCNHA – Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area

MOA – Memorandum of Agreement

National Heritage Areas are places designated by Congress where history, culture, and natural resources come together to tell important stories of the American experience. Today, 62 National Heritage Areas across 36 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands preserve and share the unique landscapes, traditions, and communities that have shaped our nation. Explore the complete list below to discover these special places across the country.

• Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area — Illinois
• Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area — Alabama
• Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area — Maryland and West Virginia
• Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area — Georgia
• Atchafalaya National Heritage Area — Louisiana
• Augusta Canal National Heritage Area — Georgia
• Baltimore National Heritage Area — Maryland
• Blue Ridge National Heritage Area — North Carolina
• Bronzeville-Black Metropolis National Heritage Area — Illinois
• Cache La Poudre River National Heritage Area — Colorado
• Cane River National Heritage Area — Louisiana
• Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership — New York and Vermont
• Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area — New Jersey
• Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor — Pennsylvania
• Downeast Maine National Heritage Area — Maine
• Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor — New York
• Essex National Heritage Area — Massachusetts
• Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area — Kansas and Missouri
• Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area — Massachusetts and New Hampshire
• Great Basin National Heritage Area — Nevada and Utah
• Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor — Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina
• Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor — Illinois
• John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor — Massachusetts and Rhode Island
• Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area — Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia
• Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area — Alaska
• Lackawanna Valley National Heritage Area — Pennsylvania
• Maritime Washington National Heritage Area — Washington
• Maurice D. Hinchey Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area — New York
• Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area — Mississippi
• Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area — Mississippi
• Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area — Mississippi
• Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area — Utah
• MotorCities National Heritage Area — Michigan
• Mountains to Sound Greenway National Heritage Area — Washington
• Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area — Alabama
• National Aviation Heritage Area — Ohio
• National Coal Heritage Area — West Virginia
• Niagara Falls National Heritage Area — New York
• Northern Neck National Heritage Area — Virginia
• Northern Plains National Heritage Area — North Dakota
• Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area — New Mexico
• Ohio & Erie National Heritage Canalway — Ohio
• Oil Region National Heritage Area — Pennsylvania
• Path of Progress National Heritage Tour Route — Pennsylvania (inactive)
• Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area — Pennsylvania
• Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area — California
• Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area — Colorado
• Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area — Arizona
• Schuylkill River Greenways National Heritage Area — Pennsylvania
• Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District — Virginia
• Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area — Iowa
• South Carolina National Heritage Corridor — South Carolina
• South Park National Heritage Area — Colorado
• Southern Campaign of the Revolution National Heritage Corridor — North Carolina and South Carolina
• Southern Maryland National Heritage Area — Maryland
• St. Croix National Heritage Area — U.S. Virgin Islands
• Susquehanna National Heritage Area — Pennsylvania
• Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area — Tennessee
• The Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor — Connecticut and Massachusetts
• Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area — Connecticut and Massachusetts
• Wheeling National Heritage Area — West Virginia
• Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area — Arizona