Registration Deadline for St. Croix River National Heritage Area Summit is Friday

Those interested in the possibility of designating the St. Croix River region a National Heritage Area are encouraged to attend the Heritage Initiative’s Heritage Summit in Taylors Falls on May 16.

• Friday is the last day to register for next week’s Heritage Summit.
• Questions can be directed to Jill Shannon at the St. Croix Valley Foundation, at 715.386.9490.
• More information is also available at http://www.stcroixheritage.org/summit.

“Based on what we’ve heard, a National Heritage Area can improve how we work together in our region to promote historical, cultural and natural resources, and help us share our unique stories with people from all over the country and the world,” Marty Harding, chair of the Heritage Initiative Task Force, said in a news release. “This could also help us better understand our own region, and strengthen the pride we all feel living in such a special part of the country.” 

The two meetings with identical agendas will present concepts for a Heritage Area in the valley, and seek input about moving forward with the idea.

The Heritage Summit will conclude discussions begun at several public meetings held last winter and which continued through fall 2012.

Attendees will hear a proposed statement of significance for the region, interpretive themes, conceptual boundaries and proposed strategies to implement a Heritage Area and make it effective.

Attendees will also be asked to weigh in on whether to pursue Congressional designation or another alternative to help the region prosper and celebrate and preserve its heritage.

“We urge everyone who has participated in The Heritage Initiative over the past couple years to attend the Summit,” Jill Shannon, of the St. Croix Valley Foundation, said in a statement. “This event is a milestone at which we’ll discuss concepts produced by the tremendous input we’ve received at previous meetings.” 

Since 2011, a task force of community members from throughout the 8,000 square mile St. Croix watershed has been researching National Heritage Areas and engaging the public in discussions about the idea. Previous steps have included several community briefings, 10 Heritage Discovery Workshops, and four Regional Gatherings.

National Heritage Areas are community based, voluntary entities recognized by Congress and managed locally.

They seek to enhance collaboration across traditional boundaries (like states, counties and cities) and promote and share special places that tell an important part of America’s story.

By law, National Heritage Areas do not involve property or land use regulation. Forty-nine NHAs exist elsewhere in the United States, though none are currently established in either Minnesota or Wisconsin. 

“From where the St. Croix joins the Mississippi near the Twin Cities to towns like Sandstone, Hinckley, Solon Springs and Hayward, this is a unique region, tied together by our rivers and our shared stories,” said task force member Scott Peterson, of Gordon, Wis. “A Heritage Area could pull us closer together to achieve shared goals.”

If You Go:

Thursday, May 16 1 to 3 p.m. or 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

• Both meetings will have the same agenda.
• A special orientation for those who are new to the NHA concept will be held at 12:30 and 6 p.m.
• Taylors Falls Memorial Community Center is located at 
312 Government Street, Taylors Falls, Minn.