Barbara Patton: Law passed in DC will benefit Chattahoochee region

Did you know that the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 was approved by the U.S. Senate on Jan. 15, by the U.S. House of Representatives on March 26, and signed into law by President Obama on March 30?

Why is that important to this area? The Chattahoochee Trace National Heritage Corridor Study Act was included in that piece of legislation and thus became law.

The Historic Chattahoochee Commission (HCC) spent almost five years working to have the legislation for this Study Act approved by the U.S. Congress. This is just the first step in getting this area designated as a National Heritage Corridor.

Sens. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) all provided support for this effort as did Congressmen Bobby Bright (D-Ala.), Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.) and Jim Marshall (D-Ga.). Former Congressman Terry Everett (R-Ala.) was also very helpful as well.

Now what does that mean? National Heritage Areas are significant geographical, cultural and historical sites, designated by the U.S. Congress. In contract to National Parks that are federally owned and managed, National Heritage Areas are locally maintained and controlled. The Historic Chattahoochee Commission, a state agency of both Alabama and Georgia, will be the local agency to manage this area.

The law that was passed and included the Chattahoochee Trace National Heritage Corridor Study Act is, as it states, a study authorization.

The National Park Service has oversight of the study and requires the development of a detailed Management Plan before the actual designation can be made.

Studies do require funding and efforts are now underway to secure a large portion of this funding from the U.S. Congress. Additional funding will also be needed. Once the funding is acquired, the study is anticipated to take 12 to 18 months.

After completion and approval, the Chattahoochee Trace National Heritage Corridor will then be eligible to receive funding for publications, marketing, historic preservation, environmental education, outdoor recreation and small business development.

Tourism is big business in both Alabama and Georgia.

Travel industry forecasts indicate that state tourism expenditures will continue to grow and tourism is expected to soon become, if not already, the second largest retail or service industry in the state.
Each year since 1977, the HCC has tracked attendance at area sites to help gauge the health of the tourism industry in the 18-county bi-state Chattahoochee Valley region it serves. Obviously, it would be difficult and not cost effective to track all the sites in the area. The HCC selected 20 to track and the recorded visitors to these 20 area attractions were 9.3 million in 2008 – an impressive number.

Look for continued work towards getting this study completed. For further information on the Chattahoochee Trace National Heritage Corridor Study Act contact Doug Purcell, executive director, HCC, trace@eufaula.rr.com, or call 334-687-9755.

Barbara Patton is executive director of Envision Opelika and writes a column for the Opelika-Auburn News.