|
|
 |
| |||
|
Pennsylvania's Heritage Areas Program: Linking the Past to the Future The heritage of Pennsylvania’s people is written across our landscape. Our stories are told in regions dedicated to celebrating life on the frontier, the founding of our nation, iron and steel-making, coal mining, canal and railroad-building, lumbering and agriculture, the oil boom and the blazing of wilderness roads and transcontinental highways. These stories are all told in Pennsylvania’s Heritage Areas, large geographic regions or corridors spanning two or more counties. Each heritage area highlights places of interest, people, traditions and events special to the region, giving visitors a taste of what Pennsylvania’s heritage is all about and preserving those unique resources for future generations.
Created in 1989, the Heritage Areas Program relies on regional partnerships and public grassroots planning strategies to identify, protect, enhance and promote historic, recreational, natural, and scenic resources. The program, administered by DCNR’s Bureau of Recreation and Conservation, is aimed at strengthening regional economies through increased tourism, creation of new jobs and stimulation of public and private partnerships for new investment opportunities. Relying on comprehensive participatory planning at the regional level, the Heritage Areas Program historically made strategic grant investments based on each Heritage Area’s Management Action Plan in accord with the five goals of the Heritage Area Program: economic development, partnerships, cultural conservation, recreation and open space, and education and interpretation. A key element of the work of the Pennsylvania Heritage Areas is to draw visitors to heritage sites, natural recreation facilities, and other attractions. In 2008, an estimated 17.3 million people visited Pennsylvania’s Heritage Areas. The impact of this tourism activity is significant to the local economies of each region. Eight of the 12 heritage areas participated in a 2008 study (Economic Impact of Pennsylvania Heritage Areas) to determine the characteristics of the visitors to their sites and estimate the impact of those visitors on the local economies. The results from these surveys were used to estimate the total economic impact of the entire Pennsylvania Heritage Area network. Based on that research, it can be estimated that:
Beyond the economic impact of heritage area visitation, Pennsylvania’s Heritage Areas reach out to residents and visitors alike, connecting them to the foundation of our country, the work and accomplishments of our forbearers and the natural beauty of Pennsylvania’s mountains, rivers and forests. The establishment of these unique areas is a process as well as a product. Driven by a grass roots, bottom-up approach to regional heritage planning, a Pennsylvania Heritage Area is both the means and the end to substantially enrich the quality of life in Pennsylvania and the communities and regions of the state where these initiatives are adopted.
To learn more about the Heritage Areas Program, visit www.heritagepa.net for specifics on the 12 officially-designated Pennsylvania Heritage Areas, or visit them at:
|
|
|
|
