Forums scheduled to gather public input
on proposal

An effort to create a National Heritage Area for eastern North Carolina is picking up steam.

North Carolina’s Northeast Commission, North Carolina’s Eastern Region Commission and North Carolina’s Southeast Commission are behind that effort.

Three forums to gather public input on the proposal have been scheduled for next week. One of the forums has been set for 6 p.m. March 30 at the Spirit AeroSystems Composite Center of Excellence, which is located on N.C. Highway 58 north of Kinston. Another forum is set for 6 p.m. March 29 at Lake Waccamaw State Park’s Visitors Center, 1866 State Park Drive, Lake Waccamaw. The third forum is slated for 3 p.m. March 31 at the Museum of the Albemarle, 501 S. Water St., Elizabeth City.

There is no charge to attend the forums. Reservations are not required. Anyone with questions about the forums or the proposed National Heritage Area should call 919-828-1905.

“Be a part of the exciting process to create a heritage area for tourism development that celebrates the people, places and events that make Eastern North Carolina special,” reads a flier about the forums.

Lynn Lewis, tourism-development director for Washington, plans to attend one of the forums. She believes getting an NHA designation for eastern North Carolina would enhance the region’s tourism industry.

“Certainly,” she replied when asked if the designation is worth seeking. “It’s been very successful in the western area of the state,” said Lewis.

“It certainly could help with the preservation of our heritage-tourism assets  and the promotion of those assets,” Lewis said.

An effort to promote heritage tourism surfaced in the northeast area of the state several years ago, Lewis said. About the same time, several communities along the U.S. Highway 17 corridor in North Carolina began talking about a similar effort, Lewis noted. Eventually, different regions in eastern North Carolina began talking about preserving and promoting the region’s heritage-tourism assets, deciding the shared concern provided a good opportunity to work together toward that goal, she said.

That’s how North Carolina’s Northeast Commission, North Carolina’s Eastern Region Commission and North Carolina’s Southeast Commission developed this initiative, she said.

“They have a separate committee that’s working toward this,” Lewis said.

That coalition hired Raleigh-based Hanbury Preservation Consulting as its consultant on the initiative, she said.

Congress designates National Heritage Areas. Each National Heritage Area is governed by separate authorizing legislation and operates under provisions unique to its desired goals and resources. For an area to be considered for designation as a National Heritage Area, specific items must be present. Foremost, the landscape must have nationally distinctive historic, natural, cultural and scenic resources that, when joined together, tell a unique story about the United States, according to the NHA website.

The NHA designation, according to its website, is beneficial to participating communities.

“The designation has both tangible and intangible benefits. Heritage conservation efforts are grounded in a community’s pride in its history and traditions, and in residents’ interest and involvement in retaining and interpreting the landscape for future generations,” reads the NHA website. “It offers a collaborative approach to conservation that does not compromise traditional local control over and use of the landscape. Designation comes with limited financial and technical assistance from the National Park Service.”

Some National Heritage Areas provide opportunities for activities such as paddling, biking and hiking. Others feature festivals and museums. Still others offer volunteer opportunities, multiple-day excursions and group tours, which may be experienced in combination with more than 80 National Park Service units.

Tourism, especially heritage tourism, is big business in northeast North Carolina, according to North Carolina’s Northeast Commission.

“The sixteen counties in North Carolina’s Northeast Region have many natural, historic, cultural and recreational resources that represent distinctive aspects of American heritage worthy of national recognition,” reads the North Carolina’s Northeast Commission’s website.

Beaufort County is among those 16 counties.