NATIONAL PARK SERVICE • U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NORTHERN NECK NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA FEASIBILITY STUDY | JUNE 2020 This page intentionally blank. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION The Department of the Interior, National Park Service (NPS), has prepared this national heritage area feasibility study to determine if the Northern Neck study area meets the criteria to be eligible for designation as a national heritage area (NHA). The study meets the requirements of the National Heritage Area Feasibility Study Guidelines (NPS 2003) and compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended. The Northern Neck study area on the Atlantic coast of Virginia includes the five counties found between the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers: King George, Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, and Westmoreland. The Northern Neck peninsula, the northernmost Virginian peninsula in the Tidewater region, extends 70 miles into the Chesapeake Bay and is only 20 miles across at its widest point. This small area of land has historically been defined by its waterways, rural setting, and connections to several early American political leaders as the “birthplace of presidents.” LEGISLATIVE HISTORY Congress directed the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with appropriate state historic preservation offices, state historical societies, and other appropriate organizations, to conduct a study to determine the suitability and feasibility of designating the study area as the Northern Neck National Heritage Area in the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-11). The goal of the study was to determine if the study area meets the criteria established in the NPS National Heritage Area Feasibility Study Guidelines for designation. The study was initiated in 2009. A copy of the law authorizing the study can be found in appendix A. PLANNING HISTORY The feasibility study was initiated in the fall of 2009 by the NPS Northeast Regional Office (NERO) Planning Division. NERO staff conducted reconnaissance trips starting in late 2009 and continuing through summer 2011 to communicate with local stakeholders, work to identify a potential local coordinating entity, and gather information about Northern Neck resources. NERO staff collaborated with the Northern Neck Tourism Commission (NNTC) throughout the study process to organize local public outreach events. Together, these two entities organized the May 2010 public informational meetings, the February 2011 interpretive themes workshop, and the August 2013 scholars’ roundtable. The study team used information from these public outreach opportunities along with additional context information provided by stakeholders and financial information from the Northern Neck Tourism Commission to create a preliminary draft of the Northern Neck National Heritage Area feasibility study. This draft document was submitted for internal NPS agency review in early 2016. In fall 2016, the project was shared with the NPS Denver Service Center – Planning Division for assistance incorporating NPS program review comments and refining the national significance narrative and associated interpretive themes. In fall 2017, an interagency draft was shared with the other federal land management agencies per the study’s authorizing legislation (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Navy) and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, as the representative of the Governor’s Office. In response to comments received from these agencies, a second scholars’ roundtable was held in October 2018 to consider recent academic research related to the NHA study area. iii A revised draft study was submitted in spring 2019 for internal agency review and approval. Following that review and internal approval from the NPS Washington Support Office, the Northeast Regional Office, and the NHA program, the revised draft was submitted for interagency concurrence from other federal land managers active in the Northern Neck study. There were no interagency objections to the findings in this final draft to be transmitted to Congress by the Department of the Interior. PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT Extensive public outreach was conducted before and during the study process. In October 2009, the NPS study team began the feasibility study process with a reconnaissance trip to Northern Neck and met extensively with the Northern Neck Tourism Commission, the heritage tourism branch of the Northern Neck Planning District Commission (NNPDC). The team created a NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) website for the project (https://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectID=31631) to share background information about the planning process and the National Heritage Area program with the public. This site also posted information about public outreach activities organized by the study team. In February 2010, the study team hosted members of the Northern Neck Tourism Commission and interested parties for a stakeholder information session at George Washington Birthplace National Monument, the only existing NPS unit within the study area. Working closely with the Northern Neck Tourism Commission, the NPS study team organized five informational meetings held during the week of May 24, 2010. These meetings were held in public venues and had approximately 250 attendees (figure ES-1). NPS NERO staff presented background information on the feasibility study, answered questions about the benefits and potential restrictions associated with a national heritage area designation, and collected suggestions for nationally important stories and resources associated with the Northern Neck study area. Meeting materials were later posted to the project PEPC site. See appendix F for a summary of the public scoping meeting notes. From spring 2010 to summer 2011, NPS NERO staff continued to meet with local stakeholders, including property managers, landowners, and organizations dedicated to the preservation and conservation of study area resources that could be included in a potential national heritage area. An interpretive themes workshop was held in February 2011 to begin identifying potential themes of national significance related to Northern Neck natural, historic, and scenic resources noted during NPS team visits. Approximately 30 participants associated with local stakeholder groups worked with NPS interpretive staff and planners to outline connections that could be recognized within a national heritage area. The first scholars’ roundtable was held in August 2013. Approximately 20 subject-matter experts gathered at Stratford Hall, a historic site in the study area, to discuss the preliminary nationally significant story and themes suggested during public outreach events and the interpretive themes session. Outcomes from the 2010 public outreach events and 2013 scholars’ roundtable are included in appendix E. A second scholars’ roundtable focusing on recent academic research and refining the nationally significant story associated with the study area was held at George Washington Birthplace National Monument in October 2018. Conversations from the roundtable helped inform the feasibility study’s discussion of nationally significant landscapes as well as a brief history of the Northern Neck included in chapter 2 (see appendix G). iv FIGURE ES-1. 2010 PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT MEETING STUDY FINDINGS The feasibility study team used 10 evaluation criteria for a potential NHA designation based on the NPS National Heritage Area Feasibility Study Guidelines to evaluate the appropriateness and feasibility of potentially creating a Northern Neck National Heritage Area (NPS 2003) (table ES-1). The legislation directing this study—P.L. 111-11, Sec. 8102. Northern Neck, Virginia (2009)—also included 13 requirements (Criterion A-M, see table ES-2) specific to the feasibility study; these criteria closely align with the NPS National Heritage Area Feasibility Study Guidelines. The study team identified several themes of national significance related to the study area that are represented by extant natural, cultural, and historic resources found throughout the five included counties, therefore meeting criterion 1. Continuing agricultural practices, maritime traditions, foodways, and a defined regional identity first established in the 17th century represent customs and traditions related to the area’s significance, and therefore the study area meets criterion 2. The study area’s potential for future conservation, educational, and recreational opportunities meets NHA criteria 3 and 4. Resources related to themes identified in this feasibility study retain a level of integrity that supports interpretation and therefore meet criterion 5. The study team finds that criteria 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are met because of local support and the continuing efforts of the NNPDC/NNTC, a local government body representing the five-county study area that was also identified as the potential local coordinating entity. As a result, the Northern Neck study area appears to meet the 10 national heritage area evaluation criteria, as well as the specific criteria of P.L. 111-11, Sec. 8102, and is found eligible according to NPS guidelines for potential national heritage areas. v Table ES-1. NHA Feasibility Study Criteria Summary Criteria Meets Criteria Criterion 1: The area has an assemblage of natural, historic, or cultural resources that together represent Yes distinct aspects of American heritage worthy of recognition, conservation, interpretation, and continuing use, and are best managed