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AMSTERDAM, NY—Congressman Paul D. Tonko led a bipartisan group of more than 60 members in a letter to House leadership asking that the National Park Service (NPS) be allowed to temporarily waive local fund matching requirements for all National Heritage Areas. This waiver would come at no cost to taxpayers and would enable National Heritage Areas to access already appropriated federal funds in order to better support their communities working to weather the COVID-19 crisis.

“Our national heritage areas are valued economic drivers and local historic treasures for countless communities all across America,” Congressman Tonko said. “These sites, including our own Erie Canalway, are lasting investments that have generated jobs and tourism for generations in our Capital Region and beyond. They hold unique value as places that connect us with our past and reveal the threads that connect that history with our present day, including voices of our past that have been overlooked and are ready to be rediscovered by local students, historians and other enthusiasts. Helping these sites manage themselves through the current crisis will help put the surrounding community on stronger footing to persevere and eventually rebuild. My thanks to Congressman David McKinley and all who joined our letter for their leadership in our call to sustain these local historic sites.”

America’s National Heritage Areas revitalize local communities through heritage preservation and tourism. They leverage an average of $5.50 in local, state and private funding to advance crucial community projects. National Heritage Areas have accomplished this work in both urban and rural areas where other means of support were limited or non-existent, restoring both a sense of hope and pride of place.

The letter is supported by the Alliance of National Heritage Areas (ANHA), National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA).

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