Restrictions on our property rights in the name of protecting our heritage
STOP NW FLORIDA FROM BECOMING
A NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA
WHAT IS THE PRICE WE WILL PAY?
Answer: Increasing property rights restrictions lobbied for with our tax money in the name of heritage protection.
"National Heritage Areas are one of the most despicable stealth land grabs in the nation. Here's why. Americans love history. And we love preserving significant places that played an important role in the making of our unique nation. So when we hear of a new plan in our area presented offering a chance to preserve some of our local heritage we are interested and even supportive.”
- Tom DeWeese, American Policy Center
In the coming months, we will need actions such as writing letters or showing up for local government meetings. Please join our mailing list for announcements!
How does the National Heritage Area work against us?
It has come to our attention that a non-profit called the Northwest Florida Maritime Landscape Alliance for Preservation (MLAP) wishes to declare northwest Florida a National Heritage Area (NHA). The proposed National Heritage Area would extend across the northwest Florida Panhandle from the Perdido River on the west to Gadsden and Wakulla counties on the east - covering FOURTEEN counties. The sharp eye of our fellow patriot, Lane Watkins, is the only reason we know about this. Lane ran across this article from the University of South Florida. Click to view: New Non-Profit Aims To Preserve And Promote Northwest Florida.
National Heritage Areas are administered by the National Park Service (NPS) - no friend to private property. NPS provides guidance and MONEY. MLAP will receive an initial $700,000 (2016 amount) from the NPS to form a “managing entity” to decide which sites need protection and how to protect them. “No land will be taken” is the mantra in both MLAP’s presentations and literature. While it is true that MLAP cannot use the federal money given by the NPS to purchase anyone’s land - an endless supply of federal and conservation group grants will entice local officials to codify down-zoning in the name of protection. Not one square inch within the fourteen counties will be off-limits to NHA's “protection.” Historic District zoning will certainly be applied to some communities, bringing with it the necessity of approval from the NPS for renovations, additions or even paint colors. Private homes, farmland, fish camps, and houseboats on the rivers and bayous will be at risk. Traditional activities such as crabbing, oystering, seining, or hunting may be restricted or banned. Want to build a dock? You will need to wade through the permission of one more alphabet agency – the National Park Service.
Read more in Frequently Asked Questions
Please read: Not One Inch…The Battle Cry for Property Rights by Tom DeWeese of the American Policy Center. More often than not, National Heritage Areas impede or ban the very activities for which they were named.
Read MLAP Project history