FAQ

What is a National Heritage Area?

A National Heritage Area is a way to recognize and promote a region’s special qualities. National Heritage Areas are living, working landscapes that make significant contributions to American history and culture. Congress has designated 55 National Heritage Areas throughout the United States with President Ronald Reagan signing into law the first one in 1984. National Heritage Areas improve possibilities for people and organizations to work across traditional borders and preserve and promote our local natural, cultural, and historic resources. This can mean new partnerships, economic growth, and local initiatives to celebrate and sustain unique places.

What are the goals for establishing a National Heritage Area in the St. Croix Watershed?

Through an extensive community engagement process, conducted with over 1,200 residents and community leaders throughout the St. Croix watershed, the following three goals were adopted for the proposed North Woods and Waters of the St. Croix National Heritage Area :

    1. create economic opportunities based on our region’s heritage to enhance communities, livability, and quality of life,
    2. connect communities, organizations, and residents of the region to help preserve and enhance the historical, cultural, and natural resources that exist within our nationally distinctive watershed, and
    3. increase awareness and understanding of the watershed’s heritage, stories, and resources by providing educational opportunities for the region’s residents and promoting and interpreting the region to national and international visitors.

How are National Heritage Areas managed?

Each heritage area plans, develops, and sustains themselves independently based on their community driven needs and priorities. Most often, they are managed by a local non-profit or an educational institution. The National Park Service may provide technical assistance. As a non-profit, North Woods and Waters of the St. Croix Heritage Area is governed by a Board of Directors, who collectively represent the area’s geographic region (the St. Croix watershed) and the historic, natural resource and cultural organizations within it.  This includes four positions on the Board that are permanently held for four Ojibwe bands that have ceded territories and reside within the watershed. The Board implements programs and activities through its volunteers and partners.

What is the status of seeking national designation for the St Croix watershed area?

In 2014, North Woods and Water of the St Croix Heritage Area non-profit organization completed an extensive feasibility study as recommended for designation. On February 9, 2021, the National Park Service Office of Heritage Areas confirmed that the feasibility study met all ten of the criteria for recognition as a National Heritage Area. The next step is receiving Congressional approval. Wisconsin Representative Ron Kind has drafted legislation and is seeking bipartisan support to designate the St. Croix watershed as a National Heritage Area.

What are the benefits of National Heritage Areas?

National Heritage Areas are involved in Recreation, Education, Conservation, Interpretation, Preservation and Economic development – a RECIPE for success. National Heritage Areas throughout the United States have reported outcomes that include:

    • Increased tourism and economic growth
    • Community revitalization
    • Increased pride and stewardship of natural and cultural resources
    • New opportunities to develop and promote a regional identity
    • New partnerships across traditional boundaries (e.g., states, counties and tribal lands)

What is the North Woods and Waters of the St. Croix Heritage Area doing right now?

We are engaging in practical activities that will have an immediate benefit to residents, visitors, organizations, and communities.  As a volunteer driven organization, here’s what we are working on:

    • Enhancing a website that promotes local and regional heritage tourism www.northwoodsandwaters.org
    • Providing a free, watershed-wide online events calendar  www.northwoodsandwatersLYNX.org
    • Creating a presence for our natural, cultural, and historic sites for a national audience through Clio, a free national website and app www.northwoodsandwaters.org/Clio
    • Presenting “Harnessing the Power of Our Watershed for Economic Development,” a webinar that provided an opportunity for economic development entities to discuss the potential benefits of national designation on the region’s economy (February 18, 2021) Here’s a link to the recording.
    • Conducting an economic impact study through an innovative partnership with the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management
    • Marketing regional products through the “Trading Post”
    • Supporting a cadre of St. Croix Master Watershed Stewards
    • Coordinating efforts across the watershed to restore pollinator habitat through Operation Pollination
    • Launching North Woods and Waters Storytellers that will promote presentations from local experts within the watershed
    • Promoting regional arts, history, and culture through social media

What are future goals for this Heritage Area?

As we reach out to organizations and individuals throughout the watershed, these opportunities have emerged for working together to:

    • Implement a visitor-based Passport Program
    • Connect potential volunteers with organizations
    • Provide access to a searchable database of foundations and grants
    • Create, implement, and evaluate a re-granting program
    • Foster professional development via heritage tourism workshops
    • Bring non-profit partners together for planning
    • Promote natural, cultural, and historic sites through print and online advertising to draw residents and visitors to sites throughout the watershed
    • Develop and Place signage at key locations and at heritage sites
    • Cooperate with existing international tourism programs to increase growth in heritage visits
    • Promote regional heritage interests using cooperative advertising in target markets within midwestern cities

What are the restrictions on National Heritage Areas?

National Heritage Areas have no power to impose land use controls. In fact, the enabling legislation has provisions that specifically state that they:

    • cannot add any new regulatory authority or restrictions on private lands. It expressly prohibits them from impacting the rights of private property owners. (An evaluation of 24 National Heritage Areas by the nonpartisan U.S. Government Accountability Office concluded that not a “single example” could be found of “a heritage area directly affecting property values or use.”)
    • cannot require any resident or property owner to participate in any plan, project or activity conducted by the National Heritage Area
    • do not have any control over local management decisions
    • do not have authority over zoning or land use
    • cannot impose restrictions on recreation, (such as hunting, fishing, snowmobiling and all-terrain vehicle use), agriculture, forestry, mining, or any other land use.

What is the economic impact of National Heritage Areas?

Since 2014, many economic development studies have been conducted on National Heritage Areas. On average, National Heritage Areas have had a five-to-one return on investment, leveraging up to $10 million in federal monies to build $50 million in contributions from private sources, local and state government, and other federal sources.  According to a 2012 Tripp-Umbach Studym the overall annual economic impact in the U.S. was $12.9 billion. The economic impact is comprised of three main areas: tourism, operational expenditures, and grantmaking activities; most of the impact (99%) is generated by tourism spending.  Directly and indirectly, National Heritage Areas  generate revenue through jobs, local spending, and tax revenue.

    • The 21 National Heritage Areas of the Northeast Region alone generate an economic impact of $5.4 billion, supporting more than 66,880 jobs and contributing $602.7 million annually in local and state taxes.
    • A recent study found that National Heritage Areas with at least one National Park Service unit within their borders demonstrate a higher overall economic impact on their regions than those without a National Park Service presence. The St. Croix National Scenic Riverway is at the heart of our local Heritage Area.
    • Heritage tourism is growing in popularity each year. More than 78% of all leisure travelers in the United States seek cultural and heritage experiences and, overall, stay longer and spend more than other travelers.

In 2021, the Carlson School of Management through its Carlson Consulting Enterprise conducted an economic impact study to determine if designation as a National Heritage Area would benefit communities in the St. Croix Watershed. Learn more about the study here.