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Hawaii loves its parks but it is one of the few states in the country that has never tried one of the newest federal variants, known as a national heritage area.

Now there are two heritage area proposals moving ahead in Hawaii, one at spectacular Kaena Point on the far-west coast of Oahu and the second in fire-devastated Lahaina, which is already an historic landmark.

National heritage areas are specialized local partnerships designated by Congress that link scenic, cultural and recreational amenities into marketing entities that get technical support from the National Park Service.

Unlike other kinds of parks, they do not involve federal land ownership. The real estate remains in private, nonprofit or local government hands. The enterprises are designed to promote tourism and cultural understanding while boosting economic development and wilderness appreciation. They provide recognition, marketing assistance and a small amount of federal funding.

The national heritage area concept was launched in 1984. The first, the , includes an array of tourist sites that highlight the canal system, completed in 1848, which created an all-water, inland route from the East Coast to the Gulf of Mexico.

The canal system spurred agricultural and industrial development that transformed the Midwest. Its attractions include canal boat rides, a bike path and educational programming.

National heritage areas celebrate what makes regions special. The Essex National Heritage Area in Massachusetts, for example, highlights its seafaring history. It includes a 70-mile shared-use bike trail that winds through 20 coastal communities. The Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area includes a driving tour that helps visitors better understand what happened during the war and Reconstruction era, roughly from 1860 and 1875.

Nationwide, there are now , mostly on the East Coast but increasingly popular in the West as well, encompassing more than 250 historic sites.

Seven new heritage areas were created in 2023 when President Joe Biden signed the . This law also established a permanent National Heritage Area System and a statutory framework for the National Park Service’s role in its administration. 

The legislation also called for feasibility studies for three proposed national heritage areas, including two in the Pacific: Guam and Oahu’s Kaena Point.

The Kaena Point language is surprisingly sweeping. It calls for a complete roster of state and local historic preservation and tourism offices to collaborate in conducting a study of whether “all or a portion of Honolulu County” could be considered for recommendation to a new entity to be known as the Kaena Point National Heritage Area.

The Guam legislation, in contrast, calls for a review of whether more specific sites should be considered.

Last spring, U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda proposed that as a national heritage area as well. She said the town’s “immense historical and cultural importance,” including its role as the capital of the kingdom of Hawaii, made it a good candidate. Tokuda said the designation would provide federal funding that could be used to restore historic sites, develop informational tours, establish interpretative exhibits and programs and increase public awareness of the town’s historic significance.

That could boost restoration of historic sites in the town.

Popular But Controversial

Once they are up and operating, national heritage areas have proven popular. The 2023 bill passed through the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent and more than in the House of Representatives. In a splintered Congress, that was a decisive vote of confidence.

But heritage areas have nevertheless also become magnets for controversy. NPS officials have sometimes balked at what they see as an expansion of their responsibilities for which funding is inadequate.

In 2021, the reported that critics were worried national heritage areas were diverting money and resources from the National Park Service’s core mission of protecting and preserving national parks established, owned and controlled by federal legislation. A growing number of national monuments have also been created by presidential proclamation, sometimes with little or no funding attached to them.

In 2020, the Trump administration proposed eliminating almost all funding to national heritage areas, saying that the program “was secondary to the primary mission of the National Park Service.” Heritage area supporters rallied to the program’s defense.

Some proposed heritage areas have been torpedoed by public opposition, sometimes because of a general fear of federal power encroaching on local land use decisions.

A proposal for a national heritage area for downtown Honolulu drew excited support in 2006 and 2007 but stalled in 2009. Supporters said it would boost attendance at places like Iolani Palace, but some Native Hawaiian groups questioned whether the federal government would handle culturally significant sites sensitively. Others objected more generally to actions that would boost tourism.

Heritage areas have also become notorious for long delays in implementation. The required feasibility reports run hundreds of pages long and require collaboration by dozens of participating organizations. They typically involve extensive public review.

“You need to go to a study; it’s a process,” said Nestor Garcia, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Ed Case. The Kaena Point proposal “is a work in progress,” he said.

‘A Lot Of Public Outreach’

It took more than 15 years for the Maritime Washington National Heritage Area to get up and operating. The idea of creating a unified marketing outreach to bring together sites along the Washington coast began in 2004, following a maritime heritage summit in Seattle, but took years to come to fruition because of a legislative impasse. The heritage area received its designation in 2019, and then three more years passed while a management plan was established.

“It took a lot of public outreach,” said Alex Gradwohl, the heritage area’s program director.

She said the federal government has provided the area with $500,000 a year in funding, which must be matched locally.

The area has been enthusiastically received, Gradwohl said, with some 45 participating partners collaborating on ways to bring visitors to communities along 3,000 miles of saltwater shoreline meandering from Grays Harbor County to the Canadian border.

The Kaena Point and Lahaina proposals appear to be slowly progressing.

The Kaena Point enterprise was proposed by Case and his then-colleague, former U.S. Rep. Kai Kahele. U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono also supports the effort, saying in a statement that federal funding could help preserve “one of the last intact dune ecosystems” in the state, potentially also gaining assistance for preserving endangered species there.

Local officials on Maui, including Mayor Richard Bissen and Keeauoku Kapu of Na Aikane o Maui Inc., a cultural center, have given the Lahaina plan their endorsement.

But much work lies ahead.

At a hearing in May, Michael A. Caldwell, associate director for park planning, facilities and lands at the National Park Service, said NPS officials supported the plan to study a national heritage area designation for Lahaina.

But Caldwell said it would be essential that a local management group be appointed to head up the effort, that state and local historic preservation officials be consulted throughout the process and that project supporters ensure that pursuit of the designation does not interfere with recovery efforts.