Hertiage Corridor Reauthorized!
On Friday September 29, 2006 the United States Senate passed the Energy Bill and, along with it, the U.S. Senate passed S. 203, the National Heritage Areas Act of 2006, that includes the reauthorization of the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor Commission for an additional five (5) years. The House of Representatives passed a similar bill on July 24. Today’s Senate vote sends this bill to the White House for the President’s signature.
“This is huge victory for the Blackstone River Valley!” Commission Chair Louise Redding said from her home in Uxbridge. “We have worked so hard to not only revitalize our valley, but to create a heritage corridor model for the whole country. An additional five years gives us a new opportunity – to show the nation how a heritage corridor of national importance becomes a sustainable and permanent operation. In this tough fiscal climate we could not have succeeded without the advocacy and skilled leadership of Senators Lincoln Chafee, Jack Reed, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry along with Representatives James McGovern, James Langevin, Patrick Kennedy, and Richard Neal.”
Originally designated in 1986, the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor was the second of what has since become a network of 27 national heritage areas. In establishing the Corridor, Congress recognized the Blackstone Valley's national importance as the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution and the need to preserve and interpret its resources for the benefit of the American people. The 1986 legislation provided for a Commission with federal, state and local representatives from Massachusetts and Rhode Island to manage the Corridor. The new legislation expands the Commission from 19 members to 25. It also authorizes appropriations of $5 million for operations and $10 million for development, and directs the National Park Service to study the possibility of designating resources within the Corridor as a national park.
Larry Gall, Acting Executive Director of the Corridor, expressed the delight of the Commission’s staff that their work will continue. “Much has been accomplished in the past twenty years,” he said, “ but we have unfinished tasks—including the completion of the Blackstone Bikeway, river access and cleanup to make the Blackstone fishable and swimmable by 2015, a new northern gateway visitor center in Worcester, and much more. All this work, and the work of our partners, aims to make the Blackstone Valley a place that attracts visitors from far and wide and that also makes it a great place for people to live, work, and play.”
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