In the United States, a National Heritage Area (NHA) is a site designated by Act of Congress, intended to encourage historic preservation of the area and an appreciation of the history and heritage of the site. There are currently 62 NHAs, some of which use variations of the title, such as National Heritage Corridor.[1]
National Heritage Areas are neither National Park Service units or federally owned or managed land. NHAs are usually administered by state governments, non-profit organizations or other private corporations, referred to as "local coordinating entities". The National Park Service provides an advisory role and limited technical, planning and financial assistance, in a form of Public–private partnership.
Each area has its own authorizing legislation and a set of unique resources and goals. Areas considered for designation must have specific elements. First, the landscape must be a nationally unique natural, cultural, historic, or scenic resource. Second, when the related sites are linked, they must tell a unique story about the U.S.[2] NHAs may often geographically overlap each other, and may also overlap portions of federally owned or managed land and National Park Service units. To date, more NHAs have been created east of the Mississippi River.
The first NHA created, the Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor, located in Illinois, was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on August 21, 1984.
The National Heritage Areas Act of 2006 designated ten new NHAs and authorized authorized three studies of potential NHAs. It was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 12, 2006.
The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 designated ten new NHAs. The bill was signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 30, 2009.
The John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act of 2019 laid out procedures for planning and management of NHAs and designated six new NHAs. It was signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 12, 2019.
The National Heritage Area Act of 2022 established a National Heritage Area System and created a standardized process for the Department of the Interior to provide financial and technical assistance to NHAs.[3] The law also provides a process for the study and designation of new NHAs and evaluation for existing NHAs. It authorized three studies of potential NHAs and established seven new NHAs.[4] The bill was passed by the Senate on December 20, 2022 by unanimous consent and the House on December 22 (on a vote of 326-95), and was signed into law by President Joe Biden on January 5, 2023.[5]
There are 62 National Heritage Areas, listed below with their respective local coordinating entity:
| Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area | Illinois | Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition | |||
| Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area | Alabama | Center for the Study of the Black Belt at the University of West Alabama | |||
| Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area | West Virginia and Maryland | Appalachian Forest Heritage Area, Inc. | |||
| Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area | Georgia | Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance | |||
| Atchafalaya National Heritage Area | Louisiana | Louisiana Office of Tourism, Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism | |||
| Augusta Canal National Heritage Area | Georgia | Augusta Canal Authority | |||
| Baltimore National Heritage Area | Maryland | City of Baltimore | |||
| Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor | Massachusetts/Rhode Island | ||||
| Blue Ridge National Heritage Area | North Carolina | Blue Ridge National Heritage Area Partnership | |||
| Bronzeville – Black Metropolis National Heritage Area | Illinois | Black Metropolis National Heritage Area Commission | |||
| Cache La Poudre River Corridor National Heritage Area | Colorado | Poudre Heritage Alliance | |||
| Cane River National Heritage Area | Louisiana | Cane River National Heritage Area Commission | |||
| New York/Vermont | Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership | ||||
| Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area | New Jersey | Crossroads of the American Revolution Association | |||
| Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor | Pennsylvania | Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, Inc. | |||
| Downeast Maine National Heritage Area | Maine | Sunrise County Economic Council | |||
| Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor | New York | Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor | |||
| Essex National Heritage Area | Massachusetts | Essex National Heritage Commission | |||
| Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area | Kansas/Missouri | Partnership Team | |||
| Freedom's Way National Heritage Area | Massachusetts/New Hampshire | ||||
| Great Basin National Heritage Area | Nevada/Utah | Great Basin Heritage Area Partnership | |||
| Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor | Florida/Georgia/North Carolina/South Carolina | Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission | |||
| Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area | New York | Hudson River Valley Greenway | |||
| Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor | Illinois | Canal Corridor Association | |||
| John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor | Massachusetts/Rhode Island | Blackstone River Valley Heritage Corridor Commission | |||
| Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area | Maryland/Pennsylvania/Virginia/West Virginia | The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership | |||
| Kenai Mountains – Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area | Alaska | ||||
| Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor | Massachusetts, Connecticut | The Last Green Valley | Formerly the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor. Renamed December 19, 2014. | ||
| Lackawanna Heritage Valley National and State Heritage Area | Pennsylvania | Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority | |||
| Maritime Washington National Heritage Area | Washington | Washington Trust for Historic Preservation | |||
| Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area | Mississippi | Delta Council | |||
| Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area | Mississippi | Office of Coastal Management and Planning, Mississippi Department of Marine Resources | |||
| Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area | Mississippi | Mississippi Hills Heritage Area Alliance | |||
| Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area | Utah | Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance | |||
| MotorCities National Heritage Area | Michigan | Initially named Automobile National Heritage Area | |||
| Mountains to Sound Greenway | Washington | Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust | |||
| Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area | Alabama | University of North Alabama | |||
| National Aviation Heritage Area | Ohio | Aviation Heritage Foundation, Inc. | |||
| National Coal Heritage Area | West Virginia | National Coal Heritage Area Authority | |||
| Niagara Falls National Heritage Area | New York | ||||
| Northern Plains National Heritage Area | North Dakota | ||||
| Northern Neck National Heritage Area | Virginia | Sunrise County Economic Council | |||
| Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area | New Mexico | ||||
| Ohio & Erie Canalway National Heritage Area | Ohio | Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition | |||
| Oil Region National Heritage Area | Pennsylvania | Oil Region Alliance of Business, Industry & Tourism | |||
| Path of Progress National Heritage Tour Route | Pennsylvania | Southwestern Pennsylvania Heritage Preservation Commission | |||
| Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area | Pennsylvania | Steel Industry Heritage Corporation | |||
| Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area | California | Delta Protection Commission | |||
| Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area | Arizona | Santa Cruz Valley Heritage Alliance, Inc. | |||
| Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area | Colorado | Sangre de Cristo NHA Steering Committee | |||
| Schuylkill River National and State Heritage Area | Pennsylvania | ||||
| Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District | Virginia | Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation | |||
| Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area | Iowa | ||||
| South Carolina National Heritage Corridor | South Carolina | South Carolina National Heritage Corridor, Inc. | |||
| South Park National Heritage Area | Colorado | Tourism and Community Development Office, Park County | |||
| Southern Campaign of the Revolution National Heritage Corridor | North Carolina/South Carolina | University of South Carolina | |||
| Southern Maryland National Heritage Area | Maryland | January 5, 2023 | Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland | ||
| St. Croix National Heritage Area | U.S. Virgin Islands | Virgin Islands State Historic Preservation Office | |||
| Pennsylvania | Susquehanna Heritage Corporation | ||||
| Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area | Tennessee | Center for Historic Preservation, Middle Tennessee State University | |||
| Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area | Connecticut/Massachusetts | Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area, Inc. | |||
| Wheeling National Heritage Area | West Virginia | Wheeling National Heritage Area Corporation | |||
| Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area | Arizona/California | Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area Corporation |
| Great Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area | Virginia | Study approved | ||
| Ka‘ena Point National Heritage Area | Hawaii | Study approved | ||
| Monterey Bay National Heritage Area | California | No | ||
| Guam National Heritage Area | Guam | Study approved | ||
| Coastal Virginia National Heritage Area | Virginia | No | ||
| South Kona National Heritage Area | Hawaii | No | ||
| Nation's Oldest Port National Heritage Area | No | |||
| Finger Lakes National Heritage Area | New York | |||
| Calumet National Heritage Area | Indiana, Illinois | Study approved |