The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area is proud to announce that its 10-Year Management Plan and Environmental Assessment has been approved by the Secretary of the Department of the Interior.
When making a National Heritage Area designation, Congress mandates that each NHA develop a comprehensive 10-Year Management Plan to guide its operations. Approval of a Management Plan increases a Heritage Area’s opportunities for federal funding.
“The Management Plan was the result of a lot of work by BRNHA Board and staff, Heritage Development Officers, County Heritage Councils, Equinox Environmental Consultation and Design, and an Interdisciplinary Team of experts assembled by Equinox,” stated Penn Dameron, Executive Director of the BRNHA.
In addition to offering a comprehensive set of goals and strategies for heritage preservation and promotion, the plan includes an extensive inventory of cultural, historical, natural, and recreational resources of Western North Carolina – the craft artisans, musicians, historic sites, festivals, and landscape features that make the region so distinctive.
“We feel this plan will be an excellent resource for us and for anyone else who is interested in preservation, interpretation and heritage development activities now or in the future,” Dameron said.
The Management Plan and Environmental Assessment can be downloaded from the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area website.
The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area, designated by Congress and the President in November, 2003, works to protect, preserve, interpret, and develop the unique natural, historical, and cultural resources of Western North Carolina for the benefit of present and future generations, and in so doing to stimulate improved economic opportunity in the region. National Heritage Areas are locally-governed institutions
that encourage residents, non-profit groups, government agencies, and private partners to work together in planning and implementing programs that preserve and celebrate America’s defining landscapes.
