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Managing
Northern Frontier
Heritage
Resources
CRITICAL ISSUES
This Special Resource Study summarizes
critical issues that currently limit heritage
preservation and heritage tourism
development of the Northern Frontier.
The following issues were identified
during discussions with the National Park
Service, New York State Office of Parks,
Recreation and Historic Preservation,
representatives from federally recognized
Indian tribes, the New York State Board
of Tourism, the Northern Frontier Project,
Inc., the Mohawk Valley Heritage
Corridor Commission, and the Mohawk
Valley Museums Consortium, among
others. A complete listing of these various
management entities is presented in
Appendix K.
1. Greater public awareness and
appreciation of the project area’s
cultural resources.
One critical issue is inadequate
availability of public information and
a lack of appreciation for the cultural
and historical resources that tell the larger
story of the Northern Frontier. This
issue is partly caused by the substantial
distance between resources. However, it
is exacerbated by the failure of managers
to interpret the relationship of their
property to other resources in order to
tell a more comprehensive story of the
Northern Frontier.
Awareness is growing among the general
population and community leaders
concerning the potential for heritage
tourism in the region, as evidenced by
the success of the Mohawk Valley Heritage
Corridor Commission. Political and
business leaders must also understand the
need for historic preservation and natural
resource conservation as a foundation of
ecotourism and heritage tourism. Tourism
directors and planning officials within the
region have stated that greater National
Park Service involvement in the
Northern Frontier could facilitate this
understanding.
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The thematic linking of resources may help provide the synergy necessary for the
Northern Frontier to gain national recognition as a heritage tourism destination. Creating
new or coordinating existing visitor orientation facilities will supply consistent, high
quality information and services. Examples of linkages for visitors, residents, and school
groups might include regional educational programs, interpretive materials such as
brochures, videos, audio tours, and interactive “virtual visitor centers” with CD-ROMs
or web-based exhibits. Promoting these types of linkages will help place the Northern
Frontier’s resources in historic context, and increase public awareness and appreciation.
2. Develop and increase local responsibility for resource stewardship and acknowledge
the concerns of private property owners, who frequently are custodians of the project
area’s heritage resources.
The role government programming can play in resource stewardship is frequently
misunderstood. As primary custodians of the study area’s cultural heritage resources,
private property owners, local municipalities, and not-for-profit organizations serve as
stewards to identify, evaluate, document, register, preserve, and interpret their resources.
The role of state and federal entities is to facilitate these stewardship activities.
Many property owners are concerned that state or federal designation will restrict their
use of their property. While this view is expressed openly by only a few residents, they can
be very vocal and effectively limit planning and coordination efforts. State and federal
policy makers need to acknowledge these concerns and clarify the limits of a designation
over privately held property and point out the economics of lasting regional heritage
preservation and tourism initiatives. While the general reaction toward increased state or
federal government involvement is positive, some officials indicate they prefer control and
management of resources to remain in local hands.
3. The economic potential of heritage resources is largely unrealized, but care must
be taken to promote these resources in a way that does not compromise their
long-term protection.
Heritage tourism is travel directed toward experiencing the culture, history, and the
special character of place. In the Northern Frontier study area, there is an opportunity to
capitalize on the Revolutionary War and colonial period of history. If they are properly
cared for, resources of the Northern Frontier can form the basis of a sustainable
contribution to the regional economy. This economic potential is also supported by the
proximity of the Adirondacks, long considered an important tourism component for
counties along the north side of the Mohawk Valley. To realize this economic potential,
there is a critical need to protect archeological sites, National Historic Landmarks,
National Register properties, and other potentially eligible, thematically related sites
from deterioration and development pressures. Linkage of Northern Frontier heritage
resources to a unit of the National Park System could also stimulate economic potential.
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The Schenectady
Stockade Historic
District.
(CREDIT: EMANUEL CARTER)
One of the driving forces behind efforts to establish state or national heritage areas, or
other regional heritage marketing and promotion strategies, is to garner the economic
and community development benefits of heritage tourism as national and international
competition for tourist dollars increases and becomes more sophisticated.
Some of the pressures affecting Northern Frontier resources include commercial
development, waterfront development, and loss of farms. Piecemeal approaches to
marketing and promotion could miss opportunities to protect and care for critical cultural
resources, and to educate locals and visitors alike about events that figured prominently
in the formation of our nation. While many initiatives are underway throughout the
region focusing on heritage tourism, historic preservation, and natural resource
conservation, there is a general lack of coordination among involved agencies: a state or
national heritage area commission with broad representation would facilitate this sort of
coordination. Momentum supporting a regional approach is building as community
leaders come to understand the value of linking heritage tourism resources. Support for
this momentum comes from Fort Stanwix National Monument, the Erie Canalway
National Heritage Corridor, the HUD Canal Corridor Initiative, and the NYS Canal
Recreationway Commission. The Mohawk Valley Heritage Corridor Commission, the
Northern Frontier Project, Inc. and the administrations of various municipalities
also play a role.
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4. Inventories of cultural heritage resources are incomplete and inconsistent.
Levels of effort, methods, and purposes of cultural resource inventories vary across the
study area. In general, funding for such work is insufficient. Without these inventories,
it will be difficult to protect, interpret, and promote unknown resources, hindering
stewardship activities.
Existing cultural heritage resource inventories should be computerized to enable
incorporation into local and regional land use and economic development plans. In order
for any entity to promote and protect the region’s resources successfully, information
gathering must be complete and systematic, and the information must be stored in a
uniform, accessible, flexible format suitable for a wide variety of uses.
5. Coordination and cooperation among government agencies and not-for-profit
organizations dedicated to planning, preserving, and promoting the region’s natural
and cultural resources.
The abundance of not-for-profit organizations dedicated to planning, preserving, and
promoting particular aspects of the region’s natural and cultural resources is complicated
by the several layers of government planning and administration within the region.
This profusion of organizations may confuse the general population and could widen
the gap between specialized interest groups and the rest of the populace. When so many
organizations are involved, coordination is difficult — a problem compounded by the
long distances that must be traveled to attend meetings, make site visits, or attend
special events.
Existing organizations may benefit from the development of a state or national heritage
area commission that would coordinate planning and administration of Northern Frontier
heritage preservation and heritage tourism initiatives. Such coordination would reduce the
duplication of effort and lead to the co-sponsorship of events, pageants, exhibitions, tours,
fairs, and competitions, as well as the development of an integrated signage system and
a network of heritage trails and programs. Although increased responsibility of a unit of
the National Park System in the Northern Frontier would not provide such coordinated
management, the unit’s mission could be modified to increase cooperation among
partners. The Northern Frontier would benefit from a unit of the National Park System
dedicated to planning, preserving, and promoting its heritage resources.
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