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April 20, 2017 – Colorado’s National Heritage Areas oversee a wide variety of programs and services that make economic and cultural impacts throughout their regions while receiving a large portion of their funding from the federal government. The NHAs in Colorado collaborate with local governments, county administrations, and federal agencies, including National Parks such as Rocky Mountain and the Great Sand Dunes, as they wisely utilize these federal dollars. Not only are the three NHAs in Colorado joining forces on a new marketing initiative, but they are also busy highlighting their importance to local communities in the face of potential federal budget cuts.

The Cache la Poudre River, South Park, and Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Areas are currently working together with a Colorado Tourism Office grant on a coordinated marketing effort that showcases the importance and accessibility of these unique areas. A new website landing page will include a map that connects travelers to all three areas while providing information on recreational and educational opportunities available in each. South Park will focus on education through recreational themes, interpretive exhibits, and heritage trail items. Sangre de Cristo will look at historical and cultural elements by offering tours and classes. The Cache la Poudre River will highlight how local industry can play a role in National Heritage Areas through railroads, ranching, and beer. For now, check out the National Park Service website locator for more information about these areas, and read on for additional facts about the Colorado Heritage Areas and how they are making an impact alongside the National Park Service.

Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area (CALA): Since its inception in 2009, CALA has been able to leverage federal funding in both Larimer and Weld Counties for a return on investment of over 5 to 1. (For more information on CALA’s economic impact, see the 2016 Poudre Heritage Alliance’s Annual Report here.) The Poudre Heritage Alliance (PHA), which is the management group that oversees CALA, invested this money alongside its partner organizations into many key events, museums, trails, signs, exhibits, education, and historical interpretive programs and projects. Highlights for 2016 included the Council Tree Video Archiving, where PHA worked with the Northern Arapaho Tribe to tell the story of the Council Tree Site through videos. (View PHA’s video library here, which includes a clip about Northern Arapaho leader William Friday.)

A few more examples of completed projects in 2016 by PHA include the first annual Heritage Culturalist volunteer training program; partnering to develop the Byways Loop Tour that connected the Heritage Area and three Scenic Byways for a creative heritage and natural tourism experience; and working with the State Historic Fund and Poudre Landmarks Foundation to create plans for turning the 1882 Water Works into a Water Interpretation Center.

Jennifer Beccard, Executive Director of the Poudre Landmarks Foundation, had this to say about the Water Works project: “This grant, made possible by federal funding through the National Heritage Areas Program, helped our organization to create construction documents to preserve and upgrade this 23-acre site into a Northern Colorado Water Interpretation Center… When complete, the proposed Water Interpretation Center will provide Northern Colorado with a central location dedicated to water history, water law, and water distribution information.”

South Park National Heritage Area (SPNHA): SPNHA has been able to leverage federal funding on a 6 to 1 basis with Sales Tax revenues increasing by as much as 12%. Under their current agreement, the SPNHA is looking at a 9 to 1 return according to its 2016 Annual Report. Working with partners, the SPNHA has preserved trails, supported events, and boosted community pride.

Every year the SPNHA provides grants to local non-profit groups which enable these groups to successfully complete outstanding and vital projects through Park County. This projects include preserving Park County’s industrial, railroad, and ranching heritage. Additionally, SPNHA promotes heritage tourism and community development through the promotion of authentic rural American towns such as Hartsel and Alma. Without funding and support from SPNHA, many of these local initiatives would be greatly curtailed due to the lack of infrastructure and financial support.

Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area (SdCNHA): SdCNHA has been able to leverage federal funding and equally match it from partner organizations for a 2 to 1 return on investment according to its 2016 Annual Report. Working with partners in Alamosa, Costilla, and Conjeos Counties, SdCNHA has preserved historic buildings and a unique cultural language; invested in educating youth about local culture and history, interpretive signage, and events; and is currently working on designating four sites within the region as National Historic Sites.

SdCNHA focuses on historic preservation, heritage tourism, community revitalization, and cultural education.In the past two years the SdCNHA has provided funding to local organizations to hold an archeology youth camp for junior high and high school students, preserved the Nasario Gallegos house in Costilla County, awarded educational scholarships to local students, and initiated an ongoing oral history project that records the historical stories and assists teachers in creating curriculum to teach that local history in the K-12 school districts within their heritage area.

Funding issues: National Heritage Areas are places where historic, cultural, and natural resources combine to form cohesive, nationally important landscapes, and a large portion of their funding comes from the National Park Service. However, NHAs are not federal entities, do not own or affect private property rights, and are administered typically through a local non-profit or unit of local government. Unlike national parks, National Heritage Areas are large lived-in landscapes. Money that comes from the federal budget goes into projects that the NHAs oversee, like volunteer trainings, historic preservation, tourism, community revitalization, and heritage education. These programs encourage financial partnerships with public and private sectors and produce greater benefits to taxpayers than the initial federal dollars invested. The impact of the Colorado NHAs on their local communities and economies provide a large return on investment for every federal award that is given, which could not be substituted for funding solely at the local level.

For more information, please contact:

 

Kathleen Benedict, Executive Director

Poudre Heritage Alliance

970-295-4851

kbenedict@poudreheritage.org

 

Victoria Martinez, Executive Director

Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area

719-580-4070

tmartinez@sdcnha.org

 

Andrew Spencer, Executive Director

South Park National Heritage Area

719-836-4298

aspencer@parkco.us

***Volunteers and Poudre Heritage Alliance staff work on documenting the Council Tree site alongside the Northern Arapaho Tribe (Photo taken by the Poudre Heritage Alliance)

 

 

 

The Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area (CALA) is announcing its 2017 Heritage Culturalist Program (HCP) training dates with a call for interested individuals to apply. This project is paid for in part by a History Colorado – State Historical Fund Grant.

* HCP training is scheduled for April 20-22, 2017, and applications are currently being accepted via the website: https://poudreheritage.org/heritage-culturalist-volunteers . Community members in Larimer and Weld counties with a passion for learning and sharing the history of the Poudre River are encouraged to apply. The training features classroom sessions at the Poudre Learning Center and field learning expeditions led by local historians, authors, and experts in the field of history and historic preservation. Space is limited. For more information about the Heritage Culturalist Program and to obtain a volunteer job description, please go online or contact the Poudre Heritage Alliance Program Manager Maggie Dennis at 970-295-4851 or programs@poudreheritage.org.

The award of the History Colorado State Historical Fund grant will allow the Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area and its non-profit managing entity, the Poudre Heritage Alliance (PHA), to offer the HCP training program in 2017 and 2018. The overarching goal is to produce a dedicated group of certified volunteers and to continue to document and celebrate historic buildings, landscapes, and engineering structures in the CALA for years to come. The grant award gives the Poudre Heritage Alliance the ability to recruit outstanding presenters for the training, market the program in the CALA’s communities, and enhance resources available to volunteers. National Heritage Areas (NHAs) are places where natural, cultural, historic, and scenic resources combine to form a cohesive, nationally distinctive landscape arising from patterns of human activity shaped by geography. The Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area (CALA) is one of 49 NHAs and encompasses the “working Cache” – 45 miles of the Poudre River, beginning at the eastern edge of Roosevelt National Forest boundary and continuing to its confluence with the South Platte River east of Greeley. This region was designated by Congress to provide for the interpretation and promotion of the area’s unique & significant historical contributions to our nation’s heritage of water law, western cultural & historical lands, waterways, and structures. For more information about the PHA or CALA, please contact the Poudre Heritage Alliance Office at admin@poudreheritage.org or 970-295-4851.

*The contents and opinions contained herein do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of History Colorado.

 

 

 

View the full news release:  NEWS RELEASE – CALA volunteer program dates 2.27.2017

 

Cache La Poudre River National Heritage Area Receives 2017 Active Trails Grant From The National Park Foundation

 WASHINGTON (February 2, 2017) – Cache La Poudre River National Heritage Area is one of 21 national parks selected to receive a 2017 Active Trails grant from the National Park Foundation, the official charity of America’s national parks.

Now entering its ninth successful year, the multi-faceted Active Trails program enriches national parks; strengthens relationships between parks, community members and organizations; and supports individual growth and well-being.

“The Active Trails program promotes healthy lifestyles while simultaneously protecting and enhancing precious land and water trail resources. This multi-faceted program offers many ways in which volunteers, community groups, corporate partners, students and educators can get involved with their national parks through hands on trail work, citizen science, formal and informal learning activities, special events and community activities.”

Since 2008, the National Park Foundation has granted nearly $3.8 million through its Active Trails program. As of early 2016, Active Trails has engaged more than 15,000 volunteers and nearly 900 project partners.

“National parks offer great spaces to recreate, be active, and build community. Whether it is admiring a dark night sky, walking in the footsteps of your ancestors, or taking part in a healthy exercise challenge, our Active Trails grants make it possible for people from all backgrounds to engage in activities that are good for the body and mind,” said Susan Newton, senior vice president of grants & programs at the National Park Foundation.

“As the National Park Service enters its second century of service, connecting more people to parks, trails, and heritage areas builds on the success of our centennial and prepares us for the 50th anniversary of the National Trails System in 2018,” said Rita Hennessy, the National Park Service National Trails System program manager. “These grants will encourage new generations of visitors to build their own connections to America’s remarkable places, where they can be active and inspired.”

The entire list of the 2017 Active Trails recipients can be found here.

The Active Trails projects are great examples of the countless ways there are to #FindYourPark. Launched in March 2015, Find Your Park/Encuentra Tu Parque is a public awareness and education movement to inspire people from all backgrounds to connect with, celebrate, and support America’s national parks and community-based programs. #FindYourPark invites people to discover and share their own unique connections to our nation’s natural landscapes, vibrant culture, and rich history.

The National Park Foundation wishes to thank The Coca-Cola Company and The Coca-Cola Foundation for their generous support of the Active Trails program.

 

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ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

More than 25,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 414 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Visit us at www.nps.gov, on Facebook www.facebook.com/nationalparkservice, Twitter www.twitter.com/natlparkservice, and YouTube www.youtube.com/nationalparkservice.

 

ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION

The National Park Foundation is the official charity of America’s national parks and nonprofit partner to the National Park Service.  Chartered by Congress in 1967, the National Park Foundation raises private funds to help PROTECT more than 84 million acres of national parks through critical conservation and preservation efforts, CONNECT all Americans with their incomparable natural landscapes, vibrant culture and rich history, and INSPIRE the next generation of park stewards. In 2016, commemorating the National Park Service’s 100th anniversary, the Foundation launched The Centennial Campaign for America’s National Parks, a $350 million comprehensive fundraising campaign to strengthen and enhance the future of these national treasures for the next hundred years. Find out more and become a part of the national park community at www.nationalparks.org.