Creating a National Heritage Area on Guam will not change land ownership, invoke new federal regulations or provide public access to private property.
But it could help preserve Guam’s 4,000 years of cultural and historical heritage and lead to economic benefits for the island, according to officials who spoke Monday during a public meeting on the proposal.
The National Park Service is conducting a feasibility study for the creation of a heritage area on Guam, and is asking for public input. Heritage areas support conservation, recreation and heritage tourism in communities, with local partners coordinating with the National Park Service.
Rita Pangelinan Nauta of Guampedia said even if Congress does not designate a heritage area on Guam, the feasibility study will help the island as it rebuilds its tourism industry.
“It’s about bringing light and bringing stories about our history and heritage and the process of it in and of itself, with the feasibility study that will be presented to Congress,” she said. “The study relies heavily on public input, on community engagement, and that your voices really matter about these stories, about these themes that we should include, and that it's a great opportunity to share these stories.”
Hilary Retsek of the National Park Service described heritage areas as “places where historic, cultural and natural resources combine to form cohesive, nationally important landscapes.”
Some of the existing 62 areas are small, but one focusing on the Civil War covers the entire state of Tennessee. Another, the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, stretches through four states.
The only territory with a National Heritage Area, so far, is the Virgin Islands.
Monday’s Zoom meeting was the first scheduled for Guam, with others scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, at 10 a.m. Aug. 8 and at 9 a.m. Aug. 25.
You can join the meetings at this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85041286089?pwd=7EVCLC1iEHOHVNe8r9GySveBwIa3U7.1
