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National Heritage Areas Receive Holiday and Anniversary Gifts

Congress wrapped up the 2014 session with two big Christmas tree bills with lots of presents for the National Heritage Areas (NHA). The first was the National Defense Authorization Act, which extended National Park funding for fifteen of the National Heritage Areas. Then a couple of days later along came the Omnibus Appropriations Bill for 2015, which increased funding for the program from the administration’s original 2015 request of $9.2 to $20.3 million dollars.

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Credit: National Park Service

Special Update: Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park next step up for National Heritage Areas?

Interested in the future of the heritage movement? Concerned that the program has had to invest so much of its political capital on re-authorization and just hanging on to a flat line budget? Then the recent legislation establishing the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park might be one way forward – offering stability and just possibly a new kind of partnership to conserve landscape scale resources.

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The Year’s Top Stories

A list of the ten most read stories from 2014 covering local, national and even international issues with both contemporary and historical emphases.

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The Recreation Imperative

In 1970, the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation completed a long awaited study of outdoor recreation resources in the United States, entitled “The Recreation Imperative.” The ambitious document laid out a new direction for conservation, calling for an infusion of some $6 billion, with the majority of funds going to cities – a major change from previous allocation patterns. Ultimately, neither the Nixon nor the Ford Administrations ever released the report and it was only made public in 1974 through action by a Congressional Committee.

Read More »

National Heritage Areas Receive Holiday and Anniversary Gifts

Congress wrapped up the 2014 session with two big Christmas tree bills with lots of presents for the National Heritage Areas (NHA). The first was the National Defense Authorization Act, which extended National Park funding for fifteen of the National Heritage Areas. Then a couple of days later along came the Omnibus Appropriations Bill for 2015, which increased funding for the program from the administration’s original 2015 request of $9.2 to $20.3 million dollars.

Read More »
Credit: National Park Service

Special Update: Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park next step up for National Heritage Areas?

Interested in the future of the heritage movement? Concerned that the program has had to invest so much of its political capital on re-authorization and just hanging on to a flat line budget? Then the recent legislation establishing the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park might be one way forward – offering stability and just possibly a new kind of partnership to conserve landscape scale resources.

Read More »

The Year’s Top Stories

A list of the ten most read stories from 2014 covering local, national and even international issues with both contemporary and historical emphases.

Read More »

The Recreation Imperative

In 1970, the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation completed a long awaited study of outdoor recreation resources in the United States, entitled “The Recreation Imperative.” The ambitious document laid out a new direction for conservation, calling for an infusion of some $6 billion, with the majority of funds going to cities – a major change from previous allocation patterns. Ultimately, neither the Nixon nor the Ford Administrations ever released the report and it was only made public in 1974 through action by a Congressional Committee.

Read More »