National Heritage Areas: A Boon for the Nation?

If all 40 of the United States’ National Heritage Areas were grouped in a single parcel of land, they would exceed that of Texas, according to figures from the National Park Service and the Census Bureau.

“The total area in square miles is 266,276 for the 40 NHAs,” wrote Martha Raymond, national coordinator for heritage areas for the NPS in an Aug. 21 e-mail.  By comparison, 2000 Census Bureau statistics list Texas at 261,797 square miles.

Depending upon one’s perspective and level of support for conservation – private property rights activists, for instance, say these land tags are slippery slopes leading toward unconstitutional infringements while environmentalists and preservationists generally characterize that view as ridiculous.

The land mass figure indicates either great success, or utter failure, with a program that’s been around since 1984.

NHAs, according to the National Park Service which oversees the program, are supposed to be voluntary programs that confer honorary titles to recognize historical significance and tell a story of America’s past without imposing land-use restrictions upon private property owners.  No matter where the truth lies on this particular point – honorary versus regulatory -- one facet of the NHA program is incontrovertible: Preservationists and private property activists alike, along with the rest of taxpaying America, assume the financial responsibility for these sites.