Legislative Alert!

Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor

We need your help now to support National Park legislation!

LEGISLATIVE ALERT

Ask House Committee to Support National Park Legislation

You can use the link below to go the website of the House Natural Resources Committee and ask it to act on bill HR706 to create a National Historical Park in the Blackstone Valley as soon as possible.

Last week, a subcommittee held a hearing on the bill in Washington DC. Corridor Chairwoman Donna Williams went to Washington DC to testify. The National Park Service also testified in support. Several letters of support were submitted, including two from the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Chambers of Commerce, which was very, very helpful.

Earlier this year, the Senate Natural Resources Committee reported the same bill out, so it is ready for a floor vote. We now need the House Committee to do the same, so that, when an opportunity comes along, the legislation can move forward and a long period of uncertainty can, hopefully, come to an end.

There is less than unanimous support in the House for new national parks or for national heritage areas. There are misconceptions and quite a bit of misinformation about what this bill actually proposes or what its impact would be. It is critical that committee members hear from people living in the valley why they support the creation of a national park, as well as the continuation of the Corridor program.

Read testimony from Donna Williams.
Watch the hearing.

You can contact the Committee at www.naturalresources.house.gov/contact

If you support the legislation, tell the Committee why.

Here are a few additional points we think can be helpful to make, if you agree.

HR706 would create a National Historical Park in the Blackstone Valley in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. This new park would build on the successes achieved by the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor over the past 25+ years, and on the network of community-based partnerships that made those successes possible.

It would allow the National Park Service to continue its role in protecting and interpreting the nationally significant resources of the valley, the birthplace of the American industrial revolution, but also continue to be a true partner that empowers others to do their share of preservation and revitalization.

Passing this bill protects the investments made to date, and allows for continued leveraging of local and state, public and private resources, at an average match rate of 8:1, both in the national interest and to benefit our local and regional economy and quality of life.

THANK YOU!

Thank you for your support!

Please take a moment and send us an email to let us know you contacted the committee.

STAY CONNECTED