ENHC is accepting applications for the ninth annual ENHC Partnership Grant Program! Grant applications are due by March 1, 2006. The matching grant program provides financial support to projects that encourage education, interpretation or preservation of the unique historic, cultural and natural resources within the Essex National Heritage Area and is open to Essex County non-profit organizations, cities and towns, government agencies and educational institutions.

Working with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), ENHC recently posted the Action Agenda created by participants in the Landscape of Opportunity Symposium. Building upon the ENHC/DCR heritage landscape inventory, the daylong symposium identified opportunities and strategies to preserve and enhance key regional landscapes such as city and town centers, farms, estates, transportation corridors and properties along the “water’s edge.” By providing web links to specific programs, laws, and published reports, the Action Agenda is meant to initiate dialogue between local officials, planners, state agencies, and nonprofit organizations regarding ways to meet the challenges faced by heritage landscape resource advocates. Considered a working document, readers are requested to augment the current Action Agenda by submitting ideas for additional web links to pertinent resources.

The ENHC is proud to count among its Commissioners, three TD Banknorth, NA executives who share a commitment to heritage preservation and development. Newly-elected ENHC Trustee, Joanne Sullivan, has served the Commission since 2000, in her former capacity as Executive Director of the Haverhill Historical Society. An Amesbury resident and avid advocate for arts and culture in the Merrimack Valley, Joanne was recently named Assistant Vice President, Community Relations for TD Banknorth NA, working out of the Andover office. Joining the ENHC as first term Commissioners in October 2005 are long-time preservation activist E. Stanley Dodge, a TD Banknorth Vice President in Beverly, who is also active on the Wenham Planning Board and with the Peabody Essex Museum AND Brenda Tecce, SVP, North Shore Regional Sales Manager in Peabody. The ENHC looks forward to accepting Brenda’s invitation to appear on the local cable access television program she hosts in the southern New Hampshire market. The ENHC is most appreciative to TD Banknorth, NA for its continued contributions of employee time and financial support. The ENHC is thrilled to announce that TD Banknorth, NA has committed to serve, once again, as lead sponsor for the Trails & Sails 2006.

Located on the Merrimack and Powow Rivers, Amesbury has long been an industrial town. Harnessing the power of the Powow River, Amesbury is probably best know for its carriage manufacturing. Other Amesbury industrial endeavors include production of textiles, hats, nails, and candy as well as shipbuilding. Like many communities along the Merrimack River, Amesbury is seeing a revitalization of its historic downtown. At the center of this revival is the newly opened Amesbury Cultural Center. The center, located at 36 High Street, offers an introduction to the cultural and historic sites of the community. After receiving an ENHC Partnership Grant for planning and design, the center opened with a gala event on November 19. This past year Amesbury received a Partnership Grant to help fund an interactive kiosk for the center to link visitors to other historic sites. Next time you are in the Merrimack Valley stop at the center to learn about the great resources Amesbury has to offer.

Winter's here—and with it, the Bald Eagles return to the Merrimack Valley. Celebrate these special winter residents of the greater Newburyport area! Mass Audubon at Joppa Flats and the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge are holding the first Merrimack River Eagle Festival on Saturday, February 18, 2006. Enjoy a full day of fun indoor and outdoor activities, learn more about these magnificent birds and the habitat they share with us.

Not far from the Essex National Heritage Area, is the Blackstone National Heritage Corridor. A river valley that stretches from the Blackstone River headwaters in Worcester, MA to the Narragansett Bay in Providence, RI. It is a living landscape where long and nationally pivotal history is visible through thousands of structures in distinctive landscapes, accessible through the living memory of its residents. The American Industrial Revolution began in the Blackstone River Valley changing the landscape of the Valley and transforming America. The River provided waterpower for the birth of industry in America with its 438-foot drop over a 46-mile length. Today, the Valley retains its “wholeness” as a unique landscape with a concentration of historic, cultural and natural resources that represent 18th and 19th century industrial production in America. Take a short drive and visit the corridor!