National Heritage Area

In the United States, a National Heritage Area (NHA) is a site designated by Act of Congress, intended to encourage historic preservation of the area and an appreciation of the history and heritage of the site. There are currently 62 NHAs, some of which use variations of the title, such as National Heritage Corridor.^[1]

National Heritage Areas are neither National Park Service units or federally owned or managed land. NHAs are usually administered by state governments, non-profit organizations or other private corporations, referred to as "local coordinating entities". The National Park Service provides an advisory role and limited technical, planning and financial assistance, in a form of Public–private partnership.

Each area has its own authorizing legislation and a set of unique resources and goals. Areas considered for designation must have specific elements. First, the landscape must be a nationally unique natural, cultural, historic, or scenic resource. Second, when the related sites are linked, they must tell a unique story about the U.S.^[2] NHAs may often geographically overlap each other, and may also overlap portions of federally owned or managed land and National Park Service units. To date, more NHAs have been created east of the Mississippi River.