The National Park Service (NPS) delivered a National Heritage Area Feasibility Study to Congress July 18 as part of an ongoing effort to designate the Finger Lakes, a chain of lakes in central New York, as a National Heritage Area (NHA).
The study found the Finger Lakes region meets congressionally established criteria to make the 14-county area eligible for NHA designation, according to an NPS news release.
"The Finger Lakes Region is one of the most beautiful and breathtaking places in our state," U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said in a March 2019 release from her office. "A National Heritage Area designation would encourage more people from all over the country to visit the Finger Lakes region and see for themselves how beautiful this area is. The designation would also help preserve the region's natural treasures and promote local tourism."
An NHA designation is a recognition by Congress of a region's unique, cultural, historical, and natural significance, the NPS reported. It does not entail ownership or impose regulations but supports and encourages collaborative efforts to preserve and promote the area's heritage for future generations.
Gillibrand has advocated for an NHA designation for the Finger Lakes Region since 2015, according to her website. In March 2019, Gillibrand's legislation, the "Finger Lakes National Heritage Area Study," was signed into law, authorizing the NPS to conduct a feasibility study.
As lived in communities, and not federally owned land, NHA's differ from national parks, but are eligible to contain parks or other federally owned property, according to the NPS.
"The study evaluated the 14-county area according to congressionally established criteria and the National Area Feasibility Study Guidelines," the NPS release stated. "These include themes of national significance, represented by natural, cultural and historic resources; ongoing customs and traditions related to the area's distinctive landscape and its people; the potential for future conservation, educational and recreational opportunities; resources related to the identified themes that retain a level of integrity that support interpretation; local support for potential NHA designation and its boundary; and the identification of a potential local coordinating entity."
The Finger Lakes, located in central New York, span from Syracuse to Rochester and form a series of slender lakes. During the last ice age, these lakes were originally north-to-south flowing rivers, which were subsequently dammed by glaciers during their retreat. The distinct geological formations of the Finger Lakes were found to be of national importance, the NPS study concluded.
The region is "the breadbasket of the Northeast" and historically served as the “home to North American democracy” as the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, a confederation of Native American tribes in northeast North America and upstate New York, called the region home, the NPS release stated.
The final step to NHA designation is congressional approval and the study will serve as a reference for decision-making parties, according to the NPS.
