Tuesday, July 19, 2011
by Brett Narloch
The Northern Plains National Heritage Area has been covered at length by the North Dakota Policy Council. We exposed the tactics used by its supporters which amounted to a campaign of misinformation. We explained how the designation was not compatible with property rights because it would become a pipeline for federal bribes so that local governments would change their land use policies. But one of the long-term – and perhaps most devastating - parts of a National Heritage Area is the possibility that the federal government will look at that area of North Dakota as a possible future national park.
And that is exactly what is going on with a couple of Heritage Areas in Massachusetts and New York.
WASHINGTON – Parts of the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor are so significant and unique to the nation’s history that they should be protected in a new national historical park in Rhode Island and Massachusetts managed by the National Park Service at a projected federal cost of $3.5 million annually and $6.1 million in one-time startup costs, according to a federal report.
And…
WASHINGTON DC - Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) have reintroduced legislation to authorize the National Park Service (NPS) to conduct a study on whether the Hudson River Valley should become a unit of the National Park system. Under such a distinction, the region would benefit from greater national attention, additional federal resources to support and preserve heritage sites, and increased regional tourism, all of which would contribute to job creation and economic growth.
According to the Northern Plains Heritage Foundation, National Heritage Area’s are not the first step towards creating a national park. In fact, they call it an alternative to a national park.
But as we have seen, that isn’t necessarily the case.
