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Great Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area Feasibility Study
Denver Service Center » Great Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area Feasibility Study » Document List
Welcome to the Great Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area Feasibility Study project website. The National Park Service (NPS) will use this website to post project background materials, meeting dates and location(s), project updates, and documents for public comment and display public information throughout this study.
The National Park Service is conducting a study to determine the suitability and feasibility of designating certain cities and counties in Virginia and North Carolina as the Great Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area. Congress authorized the study in Public Law 117-339, which directs the Secretary of the Interior, through the National Park Service, to evaluate the area for potential designation as a national heritage area (NHA).
Working collaboratively with local stakeholders, subject matter experts, and the public, the study team will evaluate public support for an NHA designation and a commitment from key constituents who would have the ability to manage the national heritage area. At the completion of the study, the findings and any recommendations will be submitted to Congress for consideration.
National heritage areas are designated by Congress where natural, cultural, historic, and scenic resources combine to form a cohesive, nationally distinctive landscape arising from patterns of human activity shaped by geography. These patterns make national heritage areas representative of the national experience through the physical features that remain and the traditions that have evolved in them. Continued use of national heritage areas by people whose traditions helped to shape the landscapes enhances their significance. The people, the communities, the natural environment, and cultural traditions centered in characterizable American traditions, customs, and lifeways that have left imprints on these landscapes continuing today. They are lived-in landscapes in which NHA entities collaborate with communities to determine how to make heritage relevant to local interests and needs.
The National Park Service provides technical, planning, and limited financial assistance to national heritage areas. The National Park Service is a partner and advisor, leaving decision-making authority in the hands of local people, communities, and organizations. Currently, there are 62 designated national heritage areas in 36 states and territories across the country that support a diversity of conservation, recreation, education, and preservation activities. To learn more about national heritage areas and the national heritage area system, visit https://www.nps.gov/subjects/heritageareas/index.htm.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
A feasibility study analysis and documentation determine whether the landscape has the key resources and associated capacity necessary for designation as a national heritage area. The feasibility study process explores important factors that inform whether national designation is the best way to achieve a region's conservation, education, recreation, and economic development goals. The study also provides Congress with information regarding the appropriateness of designating the landscape as a national heritage area.
Congress directed that the Great Dismal Swamp NHA feasibility study area evaluate the cities of Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Suffolk, and the Isle of Wight County in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the counties of Camden, Currituck, Gates, and Pasquotank in the state of North Carolina. Other areas in the State of Virginia or North Carolina that are adjacent to the cities or counties mentioned above or that have heritage aspects that are similar to these areas may also be included in the feasibility study. The feasibility study will also assess the demonstrated support of the community, including businesses, residents, nonprofit organizations, and appropriate local, state, Tribal, and federal agencies.
Studies are typically completed within three years. The study began in August 2023 and is currently in its first year. Upon completion, a report will be submitted to Congress describing the study findings, recommendations from the Secretary of the Interior, and any correspondence received that demonstrates support for or opposition to establishing the national heritage area. For more information on national heritage areas, please visit www.nps.gov/orgs/1524, or for more information on feasibility studies, visit https://www.nps.gov/subjects/heritageareas/feasibility-studies.htm.
Project Manager
National Park Service - Denver Service Center
720-989-0282
The National Park Service is conducting a study to determine the suitability and feasibility of designating certain cities and counties in Virginia and North Carolina as the Great Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area. Congress authorized the study in Public Law 117-339, which directs the Secretary of the Interior, through the National Park Service, to evaluate the area for potential designation as a national heritage area (NHA).
Working collaboratively with local stakeholders, subject matter experts, and the public, the study team will evaluate public support for an NHA designation and a commitment from key constituents who would have the ability to manage the national heritage area. At the completion of the study, the findings and any recommendations will be submitted to Congress for consideration.
National heritage areas are designated by Congress where natural, cultural, historic, and scenic resources combine to form a cohesive, nationally distinctive landscape arising from patterns of human activity shaped by geography. These patterns make national heritage areas representative of the national experience through the physical features that remain and the traditions that have evolved in them. Continued use of national heritage areas by people whose traditions helped to shape the landscapes enhances their significance. The people, the communities, the natural environment, and cultural traditions centered in characterizable American traditions, customs, and lifeways that have left imprints on these landscapes continuing today. They are lived-in landscapes in which NHA entities collaborate with communities to determine how to make heritage relevant to local interests and needs.
The National Park Service provides technical, planning, and limited financial assistance to national heritage areas. The National Park Service is a partner and advisor, leaving decision-making authority in the hands of local people, communities, and organizations. Currently, there are 62 designated national heritage areas in 36 states and territories across the country that support a diversity of conservation, recreation, education, and preservation activities. To learn more about national heritage areas and the national heritage area system, visit https://www.nps.gov/subjects/heritageareas/index.htm.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
A feasibility study analysis and documentation determine whether the landscape has the key resources and associated capacity necessary for designation as a national heritage area. The feasibility study process explores important factors that inform whether national designation is the best way to achieve a region's conservation, education, recreation, and economic development goals. The study also provides Congress with information regarding the appropriateness of designating the landscape as a national heritage area.
Congress directed that the Great Dismal Swamp NHA feasibility study area evaluate the cities of Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Suffolk, and the Isle of Wight County in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the counties of Camden, Currituck, Gates, and Pasquotank in the state of North Carolina. Other areas in the State of Virginia or North Carolina that are adjacent to the cities or counties mentioned above or that have heritage aspects that are similar to these areas may also be included in the feasibility study. The feasibility study will also assess the demonstrated support of the community, including businesses, residents, nonprofit organizations, and appropriate local, state, Tribal, and federal agencies.
Studies are typically completed within three years. The study began in August 2023 and is currently in its first year. Upon completion, a report will be submitted to Congress describing the study findings, recommendations from the Secretary of the Interior, and any correspondence received that demonstrates support for or opposition to establishing the national heritage area. For more information on national heritage areas, please visit www.nps.gov/orgs/1524, or for more information on feasibility studies, visit https://www.nps.gov/subjects/heritageareas/feasibility-studies.htm.
Contact Information
Julie BellProject Manager
National Park Service - Denver Service Center
720-989-0282