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About Us

Local Heritage Planning

The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area has been charged by Congress with developing a Management Plan that will chart a course for heritage preservation and development in Western North Carolina for the next ten years.

In early 2004, the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area initiated a public planning process in each of the 25 counties of the region and in the Cherokee Qualla Boundary to provide input to the Management Plan and to help catalyze local heritage preservation efforts. Staff from Western Carolina University and the North Carolina Department of Commerce helped to facilitate the planning process. The counties and the Qualla Boundary completed their heritage development plans in 2005, with the intention to update them periodically as needed.

The plans provide an overview of local opportunities for heritage preservation and development and identify priorities for future work. The plans represent thousands of hours of volunteer effort on the part of local planning team members.

The local plans will provide a foundation for the BRNHA Management Plan, which is expected to be completed in late 2006. The scope of work in the local plans is commendably ambitious – collectively, over $780 million in projects are identified. The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area will partner with local communities and institutions to help identify and secure funding and other resources for many of these locally identified initiatives.

Copies of the local heritage development plans are available for download below.