National Park Service Shapes Future of Support for NHA Program

In April/May 2019, the National Heritage Areas Program held coordination meetings in Washington, DC, with a visit to Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District to see the work of an NHA firsthand. Here, Keven Walker (left), Executive Director of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, and Kirsten Talken-Spaulding (center), Superintendent of Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, talk to NHA Program staff about preservation work at Fisher’s Hill Battlefield.

NPS Photo

Washington, DC (May 31, 2019) – Coordinating a nationwide program and providing support to 55 National Heritage Areas (NHAs) across the country requires a small but dedicated team of National Park Service (NPS) staff. That team recently met in Washington, DC, with a visit to Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District, to discuss how to best support the diverse NHAs now and into the future.

The meeting took place in Washington, DC, at the headquarters of the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service.

NPS Photo

The four-day meeting brought the NHA Program’s regional and national coordinators together at the Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior Building, just steps away from the White House and the National Mall. The face-to-face meeting in Washington was a chance for coordinators to examine and update program guidance and policies to ensure the continued vibrancy of the NHA Program. It also provided coordinators the opportunity to discuss the challenges and successes of NHAs in their regions and to network with NPS colleagues in other programs to discuss opportunities for collaboration.

NPS Deputy Director Dan Smith met with NHA Program staff during the four-day meeting.

NPS Photo

Currently, Congress creates each NHA in its own specific law that outlines the purpose and requirements for that particular area. On April 30, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands held a hearing on H.R. 1049 – the National Heritage Area Act of 2019. NPS Deputy Director P. Daniel Smith provided National Park Service testimony and answered questions from the Members of the Subcommittee. Just two days later, he sat down with the NHA coordinators during their meeting to provide his insights on the program and the proposed legislation.

In addition to business in Washington, the NHA coordinators spent a day in the field at an NHA—the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District in Virginia. During the Civil War, the Shenandoah Valley was the scene of near-constant fighting as it continually changed hands between Union and Confederate forces. The Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, which manages the NHA, has been tasked with preserving, protecting, and interpreting the many Civil War battlefields and related sites there.

NHA Program staff at the site of Fisher’s Hill Battle in Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historical District; behind them is Little North Mountain.

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On the morning of their visit, NHA coordinators met with the Foundation’s Executive Director, Keven Walker, and Director of Development and Government Relations, Craig Stevens, to learn about the operation of the NHA. They were joined by Kirsten Talken-Spaulding, Superintendent of Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, who also serves as the NPS Director’s representative to the Foundation. In the afternoon, Walker providing coordinators a firsthand look at the NHA’s work as he led a visit to several battlefields and historic sites, which the Foundation is working to preserve and share. At each site, he explained some of the valley’s Civil War history, which turned common farm fields and pastures into hallowed ground.

At the end of the final day meeting, the entire NHA team agreed that their time together was productive and valuable for the NHA Program. Staff look forward to meeting in person regularly in order to best support the great work of the NHAs.

NHA Program staff meeting at the Department of the Interior Building in Washington, DC.

NPS Photo

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